| August Schneider | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gerhard August Schneider |
| Born | 6 January 1842 Flekkefjord, Norway |
| Died | 14 January 1873 (aged 31) Antwerp, Belgium |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Field | Drawing and Painting |
| Training | J.F. Eckersberg’s Art School in Kristiania (1867-1868) Det kongelige Akademie for de skiønne Kunster, Copenhagen (1868-1870) Koninklijke Academie voor Schoone Kunsten te Antwerpen or Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts à Anvers (1871-1872) |
| Movement | Realism, influenced by Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891) |
| Works | Made illustrations for Norwegian Fairy Tales by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, i.e. Peik med Narrestikkene, etc., Paa Havets Bund – The Art Carnival in Oslo 1867 Hallingdandsen. Two oil paintings and a lot of drawings at the National Museum for Art (= the National Gallery) in Oslo. |
| Patrons | Schäffers legate, king Carl XV |
Gerhard August Schneider (January 6, 1842 - January 14, 1873) was a Norwegian artist and collector of folk tales. [1]
August Gerhard Schneider was born in Flekkefjord in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. Schneider was a student at the Stavanger Latin School starting in 1860. His family's career choice was for he to began to study medicine at the University of Christiania, but early in the study period, he spent more time on art than on the medical program. He was a student at J.F. Eckersberg’s Art School from 1867 to 1968, studied in Copenhagen as a pupil of F. Vermehren (1868-1870) and from 1870 at the Academy in Antwerp.
Schneider's illustrations and informative articles made him a sought-after contributor to magazines Illustreret Nyhedsblad, Skilling-Magazin, Norsk Folkeblad, Almuevennen and Danish publication, Illustreret Tidende. From 1863 he was permanent illustrator in the witty magazine Vikingen. His drawings were printed after xylography, and had often a political focus. Schneider also was a habile portrait painter.
Schneider made several trips to the valley of Setesdal and was touched by cultural traditions in the valley. He proved himself an accomplished painter of folk life and customs, leaving a rich sketchbook. His main contribution to art was his drawings for P. Chr. Asbjørnsen's Norske Huldre-Eventyr og Folkesagn (1879), and later editions. His illustrations for fairy tales and legends were developed in discussions with the tale collector and publisher Asbjørnsen himself, and built upon studies of peasants, house constructions and his own collection of oral tales in Setesdal.
He committed suicide in Antwerp at 31 years of age.