Egedius Halfdan

Halfdan Egedius (1877-1899) was a Norwegian visual artist, painter and draftsman. He distinguished himself by "skipping" the usual period between the ages of 4 and 14 when all children draw in the same way. Egedius instead began to draw "adult" drawings already at the age of five and was particularly interested in animals, which he drew as accurately and lifelike as possible. He was also very musical, and music always created an atmosphere in him and provided inspiration for his art. At Bergslien's painting school, Egedius astounded with his extraordinary talent for drawing as early as nine years old. He made strikingly mature painted studies and characteristic portraits of his siblings and himself, often in charcoal. He was also an avid reader and illustrated all his impressions, even in complicated and detailed compositions. Egedius was inspired by the landscape and people of Telemark when he first visited the area in 1892, and he always returned there. He painted a number of oil paintings and drawings, including animal studies and landscape sketches. In 1893, he painted his first masterpiece, Saturday Night, which shows two boys going on a night out on a June night. The picture is an example of the picturesque program launched by "Fleskumgruppen": the mood landscape. Egedius' art was characterized by a clear musical quality with rhythm, composition and a sense of spaces and intervals. His early death at the age of 21 prevented him from completing several of his works, but his art has nevertheless had a lasting influence on Norwegian art history.