Just five years old, poor little Thomas Fearnley was sent to Christiania (modern-day Oslo) to live with his aunt and uncle. This early turn in his life, however, proved to be a stroke of luck. For it so happened that he was accepted at the Norwegian Military Academy. And this was one of the few places in Norway at the time where one could learn to draw professionally. Unfortunately, Thomas had difficulties with discipline and broke off his military education at 17. But he remained faithful to drawing and attended evening classes at the then newly opened Tegneskolen (drawing school). He was a gifted student. And so two of Fearnley's paintings were shown in the drawing school's first public exhibition. The young artist's drawings hung on equal footing with prominent names in Norwegian art history, such as J. C. Dahl and Johannes Flintoe. The exhibition, at which Thomas was thus in the thick of things, caused a sensation. For the first time, residents of the capital were able to see their homeland through the eyes of an artist and rediscover Norway's magnificent natural beauty.
As innovative as the drawing school was, artistic opportunities for young aspiring artists were very limited in Norway. So Thomas decided to continue his studies in Copenhagen and Dresden, England, Holland and Stockholm. The decision to go to Sweden proved to be another fortunate coincidence in his life. For the Swedish royal family commissioned several paintings from him. Despite his success, however, he did not last long in Stockholm. Soon after, Fearnley set off for Italy. He covered the distance from Munich over the Alps to Verona on foot. It was a cold and wet trip. One of his companions and friends, the Danish painter William Bendz, caught pneumonia on the way and died shortly after arriving in bella Italia.
Thomas himself stayed in Italy for two years, perfecting his technique of light incidence and shadow casting. When he finally set out on his return journey, he chose the route over the Bernese Alps and found there that motif which was to become one of his main motifs: the Upper Grindelwald Glacier, which at that time still reached down to the village and was easily accessible to tourists. Today, due to climate change, only a remnant of the once massive glacier remains. But Fearley's paintings have memorialized it. His contemporaries often spoke of him reverently as "The European," for he was a well-traveled man. His friends appreciated him for "always being willing to share a good bottle of wine." And posterity? Although Thomas Fearnley died of thyphoid fever at the age of just 39, he still left a great mark on the art world and history. His grave is in Oslo, in the grove of honor at Vår Frelsers Cemetery.
×
Passionate Customer Service
.jpg "The Hunt Near Königssee by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Norwegian Waterfall by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Landscape with Wanderer by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Labrofossen near Kongsberg by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Pergola with Oranges by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace in Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Fishermen at Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1647312).jpg "The Painter and the Boy, c.1834 by Thomas Fearnley")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1647312).jpg)
.jpg "Road in Coniferous Forest by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Fishermen at Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Aurdal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_1843_National_Mu_-_(MeisterDrucke-1323079).jpg "The Bridge at Arendal, Norway by Thomas Fearnley")
_1843_National_Mu_-_(MeisterDrucke-1323079).jpg)
.jpg "Landscape with Cliffs, Trees, and a River by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Hunting Waterfowl by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1647310).jpg "View of Olevano, c.1834 by Thomas Fearnley")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1647310).jpg)
.jpg "Forest in Romsdal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace in Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1429322).jpg "A Terrace in Amalfi in Moonlight by Thomas Fearnley")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1429322).jpg)
.jpg "Grindewald, Switzerland by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Painter and the Boy by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Birch Stocks in Romsdal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "View over Tistedal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Palermo by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Tjugum Church, Balestrand by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "At the Beach by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Haugfoss by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Labro Falls at Kongsberg by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1315781).jpg "A View of Vesuvius by Thomas Fearnley")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1315781).jpg)
.jpg "From Aurdal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace with stone oak, Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Lower Grindelwald Glacier by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Grindelwald Glacier by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "View Over Naples Gulf by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Grindelwald, Switzerland by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1421877).jpg "Pergola with Oranges by Thomas Fearnley")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1421877).jpg)
.jpg "Pergola with Oranges, c. 1834 by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "An Autumn Morning at Konigssee by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "A Terrace in Amalfi in Moonlight by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "A Terrace in Amalfi in Moonlight by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Gravensfjord by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Balestrand at the Sognefjord by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace in Amalfi by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace in Procida by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Orange Pergola, Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace with Oak, Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace with Oak, Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Munich After the Storm by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Landscape with Wanderer by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Aurland in Sogn by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Labro Falls, 1824-42 by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1544524).jpg "Forum in Pompeii by Thomas Fearnley")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1544524).jpg)
.jpg "View of Meissen by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Study from Grindewald Glacier by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Grindelwald Glacier by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Akers River by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Hilly Landscape with a River in the Valley by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace in Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Krokkleiva by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Aurland in Sogn by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Terrace with Oak, Sorrento by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Painters Fearnley, Achenbach, Breslauer Fishing by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Turner Varnishing by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Bridge of Hauge outside Arendal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Slindrebirken by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Tistedalen by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Balestrand at the Sognefjord by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Grindelwald Glacier by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Whitewater. Nature Study by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Munich after the Thunderstorm by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Vico near Napoli by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Boats on the beach Amalfi by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "A Waterspout on the Bay of Naples by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Bridge of Hauge outside Arendal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "From Romsdal by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
.jpg "Boats and Waterlilies by Thomas Fearnley")
.jpg)
+43 4257 29415
support@meisterdrucke.com
Mo-Do: 7:00 - 16:00 | Fr: 7:00 - 13:00
