| Dawn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Odd Nerdrum |
| Year | 1989 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 190.7 cm× 283.5 cm(75.1 in× 111.6 in) |
| Location | Private collection |
Dawn is an oil on canvas painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum, painted in 1989. It is held in a private collection.
The painting depicts four identical men in a grey rocky landscape. The men are seen from the side as they sit on the ground, largely naked, with skull caps and leather wrapped around their shoulders; they face the sky above them with closed eyes and open mouths. Each of the men has a staff lying in the ground, near them.
It is one of Nerdrum's largest paintings and one he has said he is "very pleased with". [1]
Dawn was shown at Høstutstillingen in 1989. [2] The rock musician David Bowie bought it at the Raab Gallery in Berlin in the autumn of 1990. According to Dagens Næringsliv , Bowie paid 1.5 million Norwegian kroner for the painting. [3] While visiting Oslo on 22 October 1991 for a performance with Tin Machine, Bowie organised an hour-long meeting with Nerdrum, during which he asked Nerdrum to tell him as much as possible about his worldview and the symbols behind the painting. [4]
Dawn has been reproduced repeatedly in the body of literature on Nerdrum. It was part of the solo exhibitions dedicated to the artist at the Gerald Piltzer Galerie in Paris in 1994 and the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo in 1998. [5]
Following Bowie's death it was sold at auction on 11 November 2016. Sotheby's had estimated its value at 60,000—80,000 GBP, but it was sold for £341,000 ($428,637). [5] This was a new record for a Nerdrum painting, surpassing the record held by The Cloud from 2008. [4]
The 2000 American film The Cell , directed by Tarsem Singh, has a scene that is strongly inspired by Dawn. According to Singh, he had seen the painting while visiting Bowie in his home. [6]
Odd Nerdrum is a Norwegian figurative painter, born in Sweden. His work is held by museums worldwide. Themes and style in Nerdrum's work reference anecdote and narrative. Primary influences by the painters Rembrandt and Caravaggio help place his work in direct conflict with the abstraction and conceptual art considered acceptable in much of Norway. Nerdrum creates six to eight paintings a year. They include still life paintings of small, everyday objects, portraits and self-portraits, and large paintings allegorical and apocalyptic in nature. The figures in Nerdrum's paintings are often dressed as if from another time and place.
Porsgrund Porcelain Factory is a porcelain flatware company located at Porsgrunn in Telemark county, Norway.
Petter Anker Stordalen Bjorvand is a Norwegian businessman. With an estimated net worth of $1 billion as of 2023, he is the owner of the Strawberry Group, a conglomerate of 10 companies in hotels, shopping centers, real estate, finance, and art. Through Strawberry Hospitality Group, he owns Nordic Choice Hotels, consisting of over 200 hotels and 17,000 employees.
Kåre Valebrokk was a Norwegian journalist and television executive. He was editor-in-chief and administrative director of TV 2 from October 1999 until June 2007, when he retired. He was the father of economist and editor Per Valebrokk.
Cecilie Broch Knudsen is a Norwegian artist who was rector of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts from August 2007 to August 2015.
David Sandved was a Norwegian architect.
Ivar Hippe is a Norwegian author, political consultant, former journalist and presenter. He received national media attention in 1982 when he was expelled from Argentina by the government. On his return to Norway he began working for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). In 1999 he became editor-in-chief of the Norwegian financial journal Økonomisk Rapport.
Jon Mathias Hippe is a Norwegian researcher, politician and presenter. He received national media attention when he was made General Manager of the Fafo foundation. He continues to hold that position, however, in 2010 he was elected leader of A-pressen. He is the younger brother of Ivar Hippe, a political consultant and former editor-in-chief of Økonomisk Rapport.
Hans-Christian Vadseth is a Norwegian newspaper editor.
Kitsch painting is an international movement made up of classical painters, a result of a 24 September 1998 speech and philosophy given by the Norwegian figurative artist, Odd Nerdrum, later clarified in his book On Kitsch with Jan-Ove Tuv and others. The movement incorporates the techniques of the Old Masters with narrative, romanticism, and emotionally charged imagery. The movement defines Kitsch as synonymous with the arts of ancient Rome or the techne of ancient Greece. Kitsch painters embrace kitsch as a positive term not in opposition to "art", but as its own independent superstructure. Kitsch painters assert that Kitsch is not an art movement, but a philosophical movement separate from art. The Kitsch movement has been considered an indirect criticism of the contemporary art world, but according to Nerdrum, this is not the expressed intention.
Liv Marie Buck was a Norwegian trade unionist.
Knut Conrad Borge was a Norwegian journalist and entertainer.
The Cloud is an oil painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum, from 1985.. It depicts a nude man in a leather helmet, looking out over a landscape with a compact dark cloud in the sky. It is held in a private collection.
The Murder of Andreas Baader is a 1978 painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum. It depicts the speculative murder of Andreas Baader, one of the leaders of the far-left organisation Red Army Faction, in the Stammheim Prison in 1977.
Return of the Sun is a 1986 painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum. It depicts three young women, two of whom are twins, on a ledge surrounded by peculiar cloud formations. The women's mouths are open as they reach out toward a light source outside of the picture's frame. Their eyes are wide open but completely blank.
Liberation is a 1974 painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum. It depicts a room with a mattress where a couple have sexual intercourse with the woman on top of the passive man.
Lunatics is a 2002 oil on canvas painting by the Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum. It depicts a barren landscape with a number of nude or semi-nude people wearing headgears such as crowns and helmets. In their 2014 catalogue note, Sotheby's described the painting as "a quintessential example of Nerdrum's large-scale allegories, presenting a sense of the apocalyptic".
Woman Kills Injured Man is a 1994 painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum. It depicts a man who is assaulted by a woman armed with a knife.
Twilight is a 1981 painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum. It depicts a woman defecating in a forest clearing. Nerdrum presented the painting as a "tribute to the natural, the true human being whom we all fear".
«Dawn» er et bilde jeg er godt fornøyd med.