Johan Christian Dahl

Johan Christian Dahl was a Norwegian painter often called the father of Norwegian landscape painting. Born in Bergen in 1788, he trained in Copenhagen and spent much of his career in Dresden, where he became close friends with the German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. He brought a Romantic sense of awe to the dramatic scenery of his homeland.

He painted Norway's mountains, fjords, waterfalls, and old wooden stave churches with both grandeur and careful truth to nature. His work helped Norwegians take pride in their own landscape at a time when the country was building its national identity. Dahl also worked to preserve Norway's historic buildings, and he is remembered as a founding figure of the country's art.