SOLD. Christian Krohg: 18 illustrations for Henrik Ibsen's "Terje Vigen". 1892. (18).

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Christian Krohg (b. Vestre Aker 1852, d. Oslo 1925)

18 illustrations for Henrik Ibsen's “Terje Vigen”. 1892. (18).

Christian Krogh made the illustrations for the Norwegian national epic in 1892, 30 years after the poem was published for the first time in 1862.

The famous Norwegian poem's first lines:

"There lived a strange grey-haired one on the outermost, bare island; - He certainly didn't harm anyone neither on land nor sea; but sometimes his eyes sparkled wicked,- and then people thought he was mad, and then there were few, who approached Terje Vigen without fear".

1. Terje Vigen. Unsigned. Pencil on paper. Visible size 45×27 cm. 2. A fisherman's hut on the outermost cliff. Signed C. K. Pencil and white on paper. Visible size 30×45 cm. 3. People at a boat bridge. Signed C. K. Oil on canvas. 41×53 cm. 4. Terje Vigen sitting in a boat swinging his hat. Unsigned. Pencil on paper. Visible size 30×45 cm. 5. Terje Vigen as a young ship's boy. Signed C. K. Oil and ink on canvas. 55×42 cm. 6. Terje Vigen looking through the windows of his hut and seeing his wife and daughter (see next). Signed C. K. Oil and ink on canvas. 42×54 cm. 7. Interior with Terje Vigen's wife and daughter. Signed C. K. Oil on canvas. 40×52 cm. 8. Terje Vigen sits with his daughter, Anna, who pulls his hair. Signed C. K. Pencil and ink on paper. Visible size 48×32 cm. 9. Terje Vigen sits in despair and cradles his daughter. Signed C. K. Oil and ink on canvas laid on cardboard. 37×56 cm. 10. Terje Vigen in his rowing boat looking out over the sea. Unsigned. Oil and ink on canvas laid on cardboard. 59×48 cm. 11. Terje Vigen spots a corvette. Signed C. K. Pencil and ink on paper. Visible size 32×47 cm. 12. Terje Vigen has been taken prisoner and is crying on his knees on the deck of the corvette. Unsigned. Oil, ink and pencil on canvas. 55×34 cm. 13. Terje Vigen sits in the prison yard. Unsigned. Oil and ink on canvas laid on cardboard. 49×59 cm. 14. Terje Vigen as a pilot comes to the rescue of an English yacht by taking over its wheel on a stormy moonlit night. Signed C. Krohg. Oil and ink on canvas laid on cardboard. 60×44 cm. 15. Terje Vigen chops an oar in the bottom of the boat. Signed C. K. Oil on canvas laid on cardboard. 62×48 cm. 16. Terje Vigen saves the English lady, her husband and her daughter, Anna. Signed C. K. Oil and ink on canvas. 55×46 cm. 17. Terje Vigen is thanked by the English family for saving their lives. Signed C. Krohg. Oil on canvas laid on on cardboard. 50×61 cm. 18. The English yacht sails away. Signed C. K. Oil on canvas. 55×43 cm.

All the present works are the original illustrations for the 1892 edition of 'Terje Vigen' except for no. 5 (instead a variation of Vigen as a young ship's boy is reproduced in the book) and no. 11 (in stead a variation of the same motif is reproduced in the book).

Terje Vigen is a poem written by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1862. Much of the story and setting is from the area around the town of Grimstad in southern Norway where Ibsen lived for a few years in his youth. It describes the dramatic saga of Terje Vigen who, in 1809, tried to run the British blockade of Norway's southern coast in a small rowboat in a desperate attempt to smuggle food from Denmark back to his starving wife and daughter. He was captured and imprisoned for several years in a British prison hulk and released in 1814 after the Napoleonic Wars were over, only to find that his family had died. He became a pilot, and years later rescued an English lord and his wife and daughter Anna who turned out to be the commander of the corvette that had captured him earlier.

Provenance: Valdemar's Castle, Tåsinge. “The Guest Corridor” (Inv. No. GG 21).

Additional Remarks

Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.

Auction

Fine Art and Antiques from Valdemar's Castle, 21 September 2022