Gråvær, Skudesnes 1873

Amaldus Nielsen painted this oil on canvas titled “Gråvær, Skudesnes.” Nielsen, who was trained in Dusseldorf, returned to his native Norway in 1867, where he developed his skills as a landscape painter and helped to promote national romanticism. Nielsen was invested in capturing the look and feel of the Norwegian landscape. A quick glance at the title "Gråvær, Skudesnes” which translates to “Grey Weather, Skudesnes" gives us as much information about what is going on in this painting as the image itself. It emphasizes the everyday life of the average Norwegian and perhaps even how the weather impacts the people and places of Norway. Art historians turn to travel writing, weather reports, and other popular illustrations of the period to understand the values and beliefs that were circulating when an artwork was created. The art is contingent on the social and institutional context of the time.