Thorvald Hellesen

Self-portrait (1909)

Thorvald Hellesen (25 December 1888, Oslo - 22 October 1937, Oslo) (sometimes spelled Thorwald)[1] was a Norwegian Abstract painter who was little known in Norway, but popular abroad.

Biography

His father, Thorvald, was a barrister at the Supreme Court and his mother, Ida, was the daughter of Prime Minister Christian Selmer.[2] He passed the Examen artium, but spent a year at the Norwegian Military Academy before deciding to become an artist.

He then enrolled at the newly created Oslo National Academy of the Arts, where he studied with Christian Krohg. This was followed by a move to Paris in 1912. There, he worked with Fernand Léger and became acquainted with Picasso.[3]

The Two Friends (1920)

He would remain in Paris for the next twenty-three years, with occasional visits to Norway and Denmark, and married the French painter, Hélène Perdriat.[2] The marriage was a troubled one, however, and was eventually dissolved. In 1937, he married his presumed mistress, a dancer named Guni Mortensen.[4] During the course of that affair, he found himself gradually becoming estranged from the local art community and had to take odd jobs as a movie bit player.[5]

In the fall of 1937, after an extended period of poor health, he fell seriously ill and returned home; dying shortly thereafter.[3]

He had held only one exhibition of his works at home, in 1919; choosing to exhibit mostly with the Salon des indépendants and the Section d'Or.[2] He appears to have exhibited very little after a major showing of avant-garde art in 1925. In addition to his paintings, he did decorative work, notably at the Sjøfartsbygningen (Maritime Building) in Oslo, as well as designing patterns for textiles and wallpaper.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Helene Perdriat Aube". www.papillongallery.com. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Brief biography @ the Norsk Biografisk Leksikon.
  3. 1 2 3 Brief biography @ the Store Norske Leksikon.
  4. ↑ Guni Mortensen @ Geni.com.
  5. ↑ Brief biography @ the Norsk Kunstnerleksikon.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thorvald Hellesen.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.