Viking Jupiter Art Collection

THE RESTAURANT | DECK 2

THE RESTAURANT | DECK 2 JAKOB WEIDEMANN 1923–2001 • NORWAY • OIL ON CANVAS Norwegian painter Jakob Weidemann is considered one of the most influential artists in Norwegian modernism from the 1950s until his death in 2001, and he was a pioneer of abstract painting in Norway in the decades following World War II. Norwegian postwar art largely followed the style that has been referred to as the School of Paris—a term used to describe the phenomenon that occurred in Paris in the early years of the 20th century, when the city became a magnet for artists from all over the world and the focus of the principal innovations of modern art. Norwegian artists were heavily inspired by this stylistic movement and its chief enablers, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. By 1950, nonfigurative art had become a household genre in Norway due to Norwegian artists’ adherence to the School of Paris. Weidemann became one of principal names in this development and plowed the way for other artists by continuing to push the boundaries of abstract painting. After some experimentation with different artistic ideas in the 1940s and 1950s, Weidemann found his signature style in expressive, lyrical-abstract art with nature as inspiration and starting point. He would become known for this abstract-expressionist style. His paintings are characterized by light hues of blue, pink, yellow, green and violet, with his motifs developed from experimentations with color and form in the forest. Weidemann was also preoccupied with nature in later paintings, especially nature flowering in the spring. This tendency only became stronger throughout Weidemann’s life. 54

HARBOR | 1955