Magnus Berg (28 November 1666 – 31 March 1739) was a Norwegian-born wood carver, painter, sculptor and non-fiction writer who settled in Denmark.

Early life and education

Berg was born in

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward the Romsdalen vall ...

where his father worked for the Selsverket Kobberverk at

Sel __NOTOC__ SEL may refer to: *Signalling Equipment Ltd, a trading name used by the British toy manufacturer J & L Randall *Finnish Food Workers' Union, a trade union in Finland *Left Ecology Freedom (''Sinistra Ecologia Libertà''), Italian political ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

county, Norway.

Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Landgrave of Laurvig (20 July 1638 – 17 April 1704) was the illegitimate son of Frederick III of Denmark-Norway. A good relationship to his half brother, Christian V, secured him a position as one of the leading stat ...

who was viceroy to (''Statholder'') of Norway discovered his skill as a woodcarver. As a young man, Berg was brought to Copenhagen. In 1690–94, the king apprenticed him to the court painter Peder Andersen Normand at Frederiksborg Castle. As an artist paid by the king, he had to make a four-year study trip to Italy and Paris. In 1703 he was appointed art teacher for the Danish Royal family in Copenhagen. Magnus Berg Ecce Homo Wien Schatzkammer

Berg was most noted for carving miniature reliefs in ivory. Most were acquired by the Danish royal family. Among his 42 works located at the

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle () is a renaissance castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, t ...

in Copenhagen is the vase ''Vannets element''. He is also represented at the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery () is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally lo ...

and in museums in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Vienna and Stockholm. A biography of Berg was published in Copenhagen in 1745.

References

External links

Magnus Berg
at

Kunstindeks Danmark ''Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon'' (English: ''Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists'') is a Danish biographical dictionary of artists and architects. The current edition, which is also freely accessible online, contains the biographies of some ...

. 1666 births 1739 deaths People from Gudbrandsdal Danish woodcarvers Norwegian woodcarvers Norwegian sculptors 17th-century Danish painters 17th-century Danish sculptors 17th-century Danish woodworkers 18th-century Danish painters 18th-century Danish sculptors 18th-century Danish woodworkers Danish male painters 17th-century Norwegian painters 18th-century Norwegian painters 18th-century male artists Norwegian male painters Norwegian non-fiction writers Artists from Denmark–Norway {{Norway-painter-stub