Siegwald Dahl

Siegwald Johannes Dahl was an animal and landscape painter born in Dresden, Germany, on 16 August 1827 and died on 15 June 1902 in the same city. His father was the famous painter Johan Christian Clausen Dahl (1788-1857), and his mother was Emilie von Block (1801-27). Siegwald was married to Catharina Streidl (ca. 1850-1918), and they were both visual artists and painters.

Siegwald was taught by his father and was greatly influenced by his artistic style. However, Siegwald's main motifs were influenced by the animal painter JFW Wegeners while studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden. Siegwald often traveled with his father, and they visited Norway several times, including in 1844 and on JC Dahl's last trip to Norway in 1850. Siegwald painted several motifs from Norway, such as Hjelle in Valdres (1850), Ferge in Telemark (1863) and Norwegian lake, winter (1869). Although Siegwald painted a number of nature studies over the years, it was the animal subjects that interested him most. The National Gallery has several of his most famous works, such as A vulture (1845), A dog (1847), The fox (1868), Dyrene får salt (1862), and Company of monkeys (1869). Siegwald was also a skilled portrait painter, and in his younger years he painted accurate portraits of a number of prominent Norwegians.

Siegwald Dahl was a popular artist in Norway and participated in the decoration of the pleasure castle Oscarshall on Bygdøy. He was also bought in for a raffle in Christiania's and Bergen's art associations. Museums in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim have his works in their collections, and he is also represented with paintings, drawings and watercolors in the National Museum in Stockholm and museums in Dresden and Hanover.