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Ludvig O. Ravensberg’s Painting Collection contains nearly
160 works and was donated to the City of Oslo by the painter’s
widow in 1972.
Ludvig Orning Ravensberg was born in Kragerø in 1871
and died in Sweden in 1958. He was essentially self-taught, apart
from a brief spell at the Academy of Art in Munich in 1893. Ravensberg
was born into a wealthy family, and he enjoyed financial independence
himself. His study trips were numerous and he spent many years
of his life abroad in countries like Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt,
Greece, France and Tunisia. For two quite extended periods he
lived in Rome, 1895–99 and 1931–39. We see evidence
of his travels in his works, particularly from two locations,
Kristiania (now Oslo) and Rome. Between 1888 and 1931 Ravensberg
made a large number of drawings, painted more than 120 watercolours
and oils from Kristiania. His interest in depicting everyday
life and landscapes followed him to Rome, where he also was able
to immerse himself in the cultural heritage of the city and of
the Mediterranean countries in general.
Ravensberg was an individualist. Art, he thought, should basically
express personality. He denied any links to styles or movements,
though his works do betray the influence of Harald Sohlberg,
Alf Lundeby, Edvard Munch (a close relation), Christian Krohg,
Kristoffer Sinding Larsen and Nikolai Astrup, along with the
two Danish artists Johan Rohde and J. F. Willumsen. After the
turn of the twentieth century, his works develop an increasing
naivistic slant, redolent of Henri Rousseau, the French painter.
This naivistic bent is particularly evident in the way Ravensberg
simplifies the surface and in his portrayal of details, mainly
in works where he characterises and comments on different types
of people and life styles.
The earliest Kristiania works are from the end of 1880s and
early 1890s where we see Ravensberg’s burgeoning interest
in urban culture and history. He was particularly fascinated
by the old buildings and everyday life that seemed doomed by
the encroaching modern city. His concern can be seen in light
of 1890s neo-Romanticism which stimulated curiosity about the
past and an awareness of conservation. Norway was becoming ever
more industrialised, something that marked the capital in particular,
and Ravensberg was alarmed by the great changes.
He painted the majority of his works with urban motifs in the
years between the First World War and 1930. The approach is subjective;
Ravensberg had no desire to make naturalistic portraits of urban
environments or the people who live in them. He characterised
his works himself as pictures from folklife, and drew connections
to Goya, Brueghel and Daumier. Ravensberg put together a series
from these folklife works called The Life and Psychology of the
City. It includes works like Eros in Studenterlunden and Autumn
Stroll (1933–59), both from Karl Johansgate – Kristiania’s
main boulevard. In addition to depicting a disappearing age,
he wanted to paint characters from all classes. Satire was a
much used idiom in his works, which occasionally come close to
caricature.
Ravensberg remained aloof from the public art world. He made
his debut as an 83-year-old with an exhibition of 71 works in
Oslo’s Kunstnernes Hus. He lived out the final years of
his life in Sweden.
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