Artwork
A Norwegian Coastline
A Norwegian Coastline is an oil painting by the Realist artist Carl Frederik Sørensen. It dates from 1870 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
A Norwegian Coastline is a marine painting that depicts a stretch of the Norwegian shore, with the sea, coast, and a sailing ship forming the principal elements of the scene. The work also includes flotsam, jetsam, lagan, and derelict materials, indicating that wreckage and cast-off objects along the shoreline are part of the subject matter rather than incidental detail.
As a marine genre painting, the composition centers on the relationship between vessel and coast, situating seafaring activity within the rugged Norwegian littoral. The inclusion of drifting and abandoned objects introduces a note of the sea's hazards, lending the scene a contemplative quality about the dangers and aftermaths of maritime life along Norway's shores.
Technique & Style
It belongs to the marine genre and portrays a Norwegian shoreline with a sailing vessel, sea, coast, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict elements.
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring approximately 119 cm in height by 176 cm in width. It belongs to the marine genre and portrays a Norwegian shoreline with a sailing vessel, sea, coast, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict elements. The composition employs a realistic rendering of atmospheric light and water, characteristic of 19th‑century marine art, while the handling of pigment emphasizes the texture of both sea and sky.
The painting is housed in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display. Its condition has not been publicly documented.
History & Provenance
A Norwegian Coastline is an oil painting by Carl Frederik Sørensen, dated 1870. It is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark, where it remains part of the national holdings.
The available records do not document a specific commission, patron, or chain of prior ownership prior to its accession by the Statens Museum for Kunst, nor do they describe circumstances of its creation beyond the 1870 inception date.
The painting is held by Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it is recorded under inventory number KMS849.
It was exhibited at Statens Museum for Kunst in 2011 as part of the presentation "Danish Golden Age – Paintings from the Collection."
Overview
Carl Frederik Sørensen, a Danish marine artist, completed A Norwegian Coastline in 1870 using oil paint. This painting exemplifies his dedicated focus on seascapes, a genre for which he gained considerable renown. The work captures a dramatic coastal vista, characteristic of the artist's commitment to depicting maritime subjects with precision and evocative power. It is now part of the collection at Statens Museum for Kunst.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Carl Frederik Sørensen (8 February 1818, Besser, Samsø – 24 January 1879, Copenhagen) was a Danish artist who specialized in marine painting.
