PEDER BALKE
The other week I was lucky enough to go to London with my mum, sister, a couple of family friends and one of my best friends for the day. We had a wonderful time wandering around the magnificent capital, admiring it in all its beauty (which is out of this world at Christmas time). However my bestie and I ended up with some time to kill, and as we approached Trafalgar Square we decided to pop into the National Portrait Gallery, mostly because of the warmth and comfortable seating to be found there. It was whilst we were weaving in and out of the different galleries that we stumbled across the Peder Balke exhibition that is currently on at the Gallery, and I subsequently fell a little bit in love with the stunning grandeur, beauty and sublimity of his work.
Peder was a 19th century Norwegian landscape artist (joo hoo, big summer blow out!) who for a long time was forgotten about, despite his gorgeous depictions of the Scandinavian landscape. However he has recently been championed by curators as being 'an unsung forerunner of modernism', hence the conceiving of the exhibition to celebrate the sublime but little appreciated artistic talent. I wouldn't normally be interested in an art style like Peder's as I adore anything from the Pop Art era onwards, but I couldn't help but be captivated by the tranquil scenery he captured, the muted colour palette and the way he celebrates the world's natural beauty. His style is gentle yet dramatic, powerful yet serene, harsh and yet oh so romantic and his work is honestly a real joy to peruse in a gallery format. So if you're tempted by Peder's artistic abilities and want to see more amazing work, head to the National Portrait Gallery where the exhibit is open till February 15th 2015.
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