Hans Holmen | |
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| Born | (1878-01-08)January 8, 1878 |
| Died | August 16, 1958(1958-08-16) (aged 80) |
| Occupation(s) | Painter, sculptor |
Hans Holmen (January 8, 1878 – August 16, 1958) was a Norwegian painter and sculptor.[1][2]
Hans Holmen was born at the Holmen farm inHedrum, Norway, the son of the farmer Iver Holmen (1839–1915) and Anne Marie Svartsrød (1835–1916).[1] He studied underKnud Bergslien in 1900, atHarriet Backer's painting school inKristiania (now Oslo) from 1899 to 1900, and atKristian Zahrtmann's painting school inCopenhagen the following two years.[1][3] He debuted at theNational Art Exhibition in 1902 with a painting oflog driving. He found his motifs largely in his hometown's forestry and agriculture, and he eventually acquired a good reputation as a portrait painter.
A portrait assignment took him to England and France, where he studied sculpture at the museums. He moved increasingly toward this form of expression while continuing to paint. After the First World War, he settled inSandefjord, where his sculpture of the priest and hymn writerMagnus Brostrup Landstad was installed in 1928. This was the first time a public statue had been carved from Norwegianhardstein (a blue-gray schist).[4][5] Together withMyllarguten (1940) at theNordagutu train station, theUlabrand monument inUla (1933), and the bust ofHarald Sohlberg in Røros, it is considered his main work. He also created memorials for those that fell in the Second World War atBommestad inHedrum and inStokke.[1]
Distinctive works by Holmen include many of the tombstones, grave markers, and reliefs, close to 60 altogether, which decorate cemeteries in many places in Norway. Most of these are carved from stone, and a few are bronze reliefs. There are also a few wrought-iron works based on Holmen's sketches. Holmen's early works includes a number of illustrations in some ofLorens Berg'slocal history books (bygdebøker). Holmen provided decoration forKodal Church, but his works were removed during later restoration of the church. Holmen also created a statue of Lorens Berg at Prestbyen inKodal.[6]
Authority control databases: Artists |
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