Johan Christian Dahl

(Norwegian, 1788–1857)

Johan Christian Dahl was Norwegian Romantic painter known for his depictions of landscapes in Scandinavia and Germany. Dahl sought to convey the profundity he felt before nature through his paintings. Born Johan Christian Claussen Dahl on February 24, 1788 in Bergen, Norway, he grew up in a poor family his artistic talent was recognized when he was teenager. Dahl went on to study under Johan Georg Müller in Bergen and later at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Living in Denmark over the next 7 years, he cultivated the patronage of Prince Christian Frederik and was the subject of several exhibitions. After relocating to Dresden in 1818, the artist befriended Caspar David Friedrich, the esteemed German painter’s influence on Dahl is clear in his View of Dresden by Moonlight (1838). Though he settled in Dresden, Dahl began making regular trips back to the landscapes of Norway, producing works focused on the sublime views of fjords, mountains, and stormy seas. The artist died on October 14, 1857 in Dresden, Germany. Today, his works are held in the collections of the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, among others.