Mathias Stoltenberg (21 July 1799 – 2 November 1871) was a Norwegian painter. He earned his living mostly as a travelling portrait painter and furniture restorer. His paintings were later rediscovered and presented at the

1914 Jubilee Exhibition The 1914 Jubilee Exhibition took place in Oslo, Kristiania, Norway, from May 5 to October 11, 1914. It marked the centennial anniversary of the Norway in 1814, 1814 Constitution of Norway, constitution and focused on industry and agriculture. The m ...

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

Personal life

Stoltenberg was born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

, the son of merchant and politician Carl Peter Stoltenberg and Karen Mathea Bull. He lost his sense of hearing as a child, and died in poverty in Vang in 1871.

Career

Stoltenberg studied carpentry in Copenhagen, where he also took lessons in portrait painting with

Christian August Lorentzen Christian August Lorentzen (10 August 1749 – 8 May 1828) was a Danish painter. Early life and education Christian August Lorentzen was born in Sønderborg, Denmark. He was the son of Hans Peter Lorentzen and Maria Christina Hansdatter. His ...

. Back in Norway he earned his living as a travelling portrait painter and carpenter. After his father died in 1830, the family home in Tønsberg dissolved. Stoltenberg's travels covered large parts of Norway. During the 1830s and 1840s he visited

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer and the lake ...

Dovre Dovre is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Dovre (villag ...

, the districts around Kristaniafjorden,

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

and

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. Østerdalen is often subdivide ...

. From the late 1840s he lived in Vang, Hedmark. His paintings were mostly portraits, and also landscapes. His art was recognized after the

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the East End and West End of Oslo, West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg, Norway, Urani ...

in Kristiania, and he is represented in several museums. 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 ...

has fifteen of his portraits and three landscape paintings, among them ''Utsikt til Vang kirke'' (View of Vang church) from 1863. Stoltenberg's paintings were first described by

Hans Ødegaard Hans Ødegaard (30 May 1876 – 1 March 1943) was a Norwegian painter. Biography He was born in Norderhov. He studied painting and drawing with Brynjulf Bergslien. He was a student of Fredrik Kolstø the year 1897-1898 and Knud Bergslien ...

in 1914, in ''Norske malere. Mathias Stoltenberg og Lars Hertervig''.Malmanger 1993: p. 348 Ødegaard was responsible for the exhibition of older Norwegian art at the 1914 Jubilee Exhibition. In addition to Stoltenberg,

Lars Hertervig Lars Hertervig (16 February 1830 – 6 January 1902) was a Norwegian painter. His semi-fantastical work with motives from the coastal landscape in the traditional district of Ryfylke is regarded as one of the peaks of Norwegian painting. Life a ...

Johannes Flintoe Johannes Flintoe (1786/87, Copenhagen - 27 January 1870, Copenhagen) was a Danish-born painter of Norwegian ancestry. He is known for his landscapes, costume studies and historical scenes. His works play a significant role in the transition to ro ...

and

Peder Balke Peder Balke (November 4, 1804 – February 5, 1887) was a Norwegian painter. He is known for portraying the landscape of Norway in a romantic and dramatic manner. Biography Peder Andersen was born on the island of Helgøya, in Hedmark county, ...

were other more or less forgotten painters who found their way into museums and galleries after this exhibition. Henrik Grevenor wrote a biography of Stoltenberg in 1935, ''Mathias Stoltenberg. En kunstner mellom to tidsaldre'' (Mathias Stoltenberg. An artist between two epochs).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltenberg, Mathias 1799 births 1871 deaths People from Tønsberg 19th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century Norwegian male artists Mathias