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Dimensions: measurements note 7 1/8 by 8 7/8 in.; 18.1 by 22.6 cm.

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Provenance: Frau von der Decken, Dresden (a gift from the artist, December 1853);
With Galleri Bellman, Oslo;
From whom purchased by the present collector in 1981.

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Exhibited: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Art Museums, on loan 1981-2002 and 2004-2007.

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Literature: M.L. Bang, Johann Christian Dahl, 1788-1857: Life and Work, Oslo 1987, Vol. II, p. 341, cat. no. 1150, Vol. III, reproduced plate 495 (incorrectly as oil on canvas).

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Notes: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Dahl's oil sketches from nature are some of his most beautiful works, capturing with mastery the shifting qualities of light and atmosphere on the landscape. Born in Bergen, Norway, Dahl became one of the leading proponents of the new approach of plein air study. As there was no academy yet established in Norway, he left in 1811 to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Dahl had painted from nature in Denmark, but it wasn't until he traveled to Italy in 1820 that his nature sketches became freer and more confident. Though he settled in Dresden for the rest of his life, he made five trips between 1826 and 1850 to his native Norway where he made hundreds of sketches from nature, using them upon his return to Dresden as inspiration for his large-scale Nordic landscapes. This finished study of a brilliant sunset was painted for one of his closest friends in Dresden, Frau von der Decken. M. L. Bang (see Literature) lists more than a dozen works that the artist painted as presents for her, many as Christmas gifts, between 1837-1856. Starting in the 1820s, Dahl made drawings after his paintings to keep as a record. An "after drawing" of the present work is in the collection of the Bergen Billedgalleri, Bergen (see fig. 1) and is inscribed "d. 24 Decbr. 1853. Present an Frau Generalin von der Decken-Dahl 9 1/2 Z. l - 7 ½ Z. h. Sch. Mass." Though the site is not specified, it may depict a scene along the Elbe River where Dahl often painted.