Horses on the mountain

Andreas Schneider was a Norwegian ceramist and one of the country's most renowned and innovative in the field around 1900. He is considered Norway's first workshop ceramist and is particularly known for his Art Nouveau-inspired works with thick, liquid glaze. His works in the art nouveau style are sometimes considered to be on a par with the best works in Europe. Schneider's pioneering efforts were decisive for the development of Norwegian ceramics in the first half of the 20th century.

In terms of his painting career, Schneider was moderately successful. He often participated in the National Art Exhibition (Autumn Exhibition), where he first exhibited in 1884. He painted landscapes and portraits, and although he was considered talented, he was not seen as particularly original. In 1894 he held his first and only solo exhibition as a painter.

In the same year, Schneider traveled to Copenhagen to try to get a place at Kristian Zahrtmann's painting school, but the school was full. Instead, he began working at Kjøbenhavn's Lervarefabrik in Valby in the winter of 1894/1895, under the guidance of his master friend G. Eifrig. At the time, Thorvald Bindesbøll, one of Denmark's foremost artists and ceramicists, was artistic director at the factory.