Johan Edward Bergh (29 March 1828 – 23 September 1880) was a Swedish

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

, associated with the

Düsseldorf School Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düssel, ...

Biography

Bergh was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Severin Bergh and Emma Forsström. His parents were shopkeepers. He attended Maria Læromsskola then in 1844 went to

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. He initially studied the natural sciences, but switched to legal studies and graduated with a master's degree in 1849. At first, he worked as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

at the

Svea Court of Appeal Svea Court of Appeal (), located in Stockholm, is one of six appellate courts in the Swedish legal system, as well as the oldest Swedish court currently in use (the Supreme Court being constituted only in 1789, over 150 years later). It is loca ...

and

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...

. His interest in art began during a trip to

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

, where he met several artists and became friends with the architect,

Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander (June 23, 1816 – May 9, 1881) was a Swedish architect and artist. Biography Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of Georg Fredrik Scholander (1785–1825) and Karin Nyström (178 ...

. When he got home, he contacted Johan Way, an instructor at his alma mater, who numbered painting among his many accomplishments. After that, he increasingly devoted less time to the law and more to art. His first attempt to enroll at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

was rejected, but he was not discouraged. He began exhibiting under the auspices of the Swedish Art Association ('). One of those exhibitions was attended by Count who was an official at the Royal Academy. He was impressed with Bergh's work and assured him that a new application would be accepted. By 1854, he had qualified for a scholarship that enabled him to take a three-year study trip. He visited

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where he studied at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

with Norwegian romanticist painter

Hans Gude Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Ro ...

. He also had some lessons from German landscape and seascape painter

Andreas Achenbach Andreas Achenbach (29 September 1815 – 1 April 1910) was a German landscape and seascape painter in the Romantic style. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Düsseldorf School. His brother, Oswald, was also a well known landscap ...

and the Swiss landscape painter,

Alexandre Calame Alexandre Calame (28 May 1810 – 19 March 1864) was a Swiss landscape painter, associated with the Düsseldorf School. Biography He was born in Arabie at the time belonging to Corsier-sur-Vevey, today a part of Vevey. He was the son of a skill ...

. In 1857, he established a landscape painting school at the Royal Academy and became a professor there in 1861. In 1862, he was one of the founding members of

Sällskapet Idun is a Swedish association for men, founded in 1862 in Stockholm. Founding Sällskapet Idun traces its founding back to 22 November 1862 at the Hotel Fenix in Stockholm, Sweden. Its founders consisted of Edward Bergh and Johan Fredrik Höcke ...

, a men's association. In the late 1860s, he moved away from the more traditional landscape subjects and began focusing on scenes from central Sweden. He was awarded a gold medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1867) The of 1867 (), better known in English as the 1867 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, Second French Empire, France, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. It was the List of world expositions, second of ten major expositions held i ...

in Paris. In 1874, he suffered an

intracranial hemorrhage Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) refers to any form of Hemorrhage, bleeding Internal bleeding, within the Human skull, skull. It can result from trauma, vascular abnormalities, hypertension, or other medical conditions. ICH is broadly categorized ...

and became partially paralyzed. As a result, he began repeating popular motifs and his work never returned to its original level of quality. He died during 1880 in Stockholm.

Personal life

In 1855, he married the artist . They were the parents of Richard Bergh (1858–1919) who also became a painter.

Gallery

File:Summer Landscape (Edvard Bergh) - Nationalmuseum - 20138.tif, ''Summer Landscape'' (1873) File:Utsigt af Ornäs målning av Edward Bergh.jpg, ''View of Ornäs'' (date unknown) File:Rocky Landscape with Waterfall and Watermill, Småland (Edvard Bergh) - Nationalmuseum - 17941.tif, ''Rocky Landscape with Waterfall and Watermill, Småland'' (1862) File:Johan Edvard Bergh - Solnedgång över fjärden (1855).jpg, ''Sunset Over the Bay'' (1855)

References

Other sources

*''

Svenskt konstnärslexikon The ''Svenskt konstnärslexikon'' is a dictionary of Swedish art and artists that was published in five volumes by Allhems Förlag AB from 1952 to 1967.Svensk uppslagsbok ''Svensk uppslagsbok'' is a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1929 and 1955, in two editions. First edition The first edition was started in 1929 by ''Baltiska förlaget AB'', but publishing was taken over by ''Svensk uppslagsbok AB'' in 1 ...

. Malmö 1939
Biography
@ the '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon''

External links