Biography

Georg Anton Rasmussen (August 7, 1842, Stavanger - October 23, 1914, Berlin) was a Norwegian landscape painter who spent most of his career in Germany.

He began his artistic training in Bergen, where he studied with Johan Ludvig Losting and Anders Askevold. In 1863, he moved to Copenhagen to study with Frederik Rohde [de] at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. From 1864 to 1867, he completed his studies at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf with Oswald Achenbach, and was influenced by the works of Hans Gude. After completing his studies, he remained in Düsseldorf.

From 1868 to 1900, he was a member of Malkasten, a local artists' association. The variety of his landscapes diminished after 1870, when he devoted himself almost entirely to the fjords. This was probably in response to tourist preferences. After 1870, he began to paint a variety of landscapes in response to tourist demand for images of fjords. He became one of the most productive fjord painters, achieving his greatest success in Germany. He never repeated the same motifs, giving each picture a unique touch. In 1899, he moved to Berlin, but returned to Norway every summer to sell his paintings. After 1900, he began to paint with a palette knife, lightening his colors in imitation of Adelsteen Normann.

His paintings always included foregrounds with people and boats, sometimes houses. Many of his works were copied and sold as prints. Some art historians maintain that he would be better known today if he had become a member of the Berlin Secession.

His works are on show at the National Gallery of Denmark, the Deutschen Schifffahrtsmuseum in Bremerhaven, the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden and the Kunstmuseum in Düsseldorf. Many of his paintings are held by the Bergen Museum of Art & Science.

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