Kalle Løchen

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Selvportrett (self-portrait), 1885, private property

Kalle Løchen (actually Karl Løchen ; born May 9, 1865 in Fåberg , Oppland Province , † November 20, 1893 in Kristiania ) was a Norwegian painter and theater actor . His friend Edvard Munch considered him “the greatest artistic talent” in Norway.

Life

Family and education

Kalle Løchen was the youngest of ten children of the liberal lawyer Edvard Martin Løchen and the housewife Anne Elisabeth Grøtting. His father was interested in the literature of his time during his studies and was at times close to the circle around the poet Johan Sebastian Welhaven . Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe , collectors of Norwegian folk tales based on the model of the Brothers Grimm , were friends of one of their mother's brothers and were later frequent guests of the Løchen family. In this culturally open-minded milieu, Kalle Løchen expressed the desire to embark on a career as an artist at an early age.

After he had passed the secondary school exams in 1881, he began training at the Royal Drawing and Art School (Den Kongelige Tegne- og Kunstskole) in the Norwegian capital Kristiania (now Oslo). At the same time he took drawing lessons from Wilhelm von Hanno and attended Knud Bergslien's private painting school . From 1883 on, Løchen deepened his knowledge by studying with Christian Krohg , who later became a central naturalistic painter and writer, who praised his pupil's talent. In 1883 and 1884 Løchen also attended the so-called “open-air academy” of the painter Frits Thaulow in Modum . Here the young artists, who were oriented towards the realistic-naturalistic school, criticized and encouraged one another.

First work

The first work was done during these years of training. Inspired by an article by Erik Werenskiold in the magazine Nyt Tidsskrift about the French impressionists , Løchen created the oil painting Fra Kongshavn bad (Partie vom Kongshavn-Bad, 1882) at the age of 17 . With a quick, impasto application of paint, he depicted the shimmering sunlight over a bathing establishment by the sea. Probably under the influence of Krohg, prosaic motifs shaped Løchen's work in the years that followed. He painted neglected apartment buildings and backyards in the capital and showed a preference for roof landscapes and attic windows . This choice of motif did not always meet with approval from the bourgeois audience. His painting Etter en søvnløs natt (After a Sleepless Night, 1883), which shows a young mother in a nightgown worried about her child, caused real annoyance . His sister Helene had been a model for him. This and another painting were presented in the so-called Autumn Exhibition (Høstutstillingen) in 1883, an annual show of contemporary art in Kristiania.

Cecilie Thoresen Krog , 1885, Nasjonalgalleriet , Oslo

A series of portraits was created around 1885 . The mostly penniless artist portrayed himself as elegant men with top hats, cigars and open coats. He characterized Norway's first student, the doctor's daughter Cecilie Thoresen , by her relaxed posture in an armchair and an oblique, enigmatic look. Other portraits included the theater critic Sigurd Bødtker, the literary historian Henrik Jæger and several members of his family.

Art and theater

On November 23, 1886, Løchen married the three years older actress Anna Brun. Løchen, who was already very interested in the theater as a teenager, moved with his wife to Bergen , where, despite the lack of formal training, he got an engagement at one of Norway's leading theaters, Den Nationale Scene . A short time later he played the title role in a Hamlet production and delighted the audience. Other spectacular appearances followed. However, Løchen did not want to give up painting entirely, even if it brought him little income. For years he was in doubt which of the arts to practice; he was, he said on one occasion, "the best actor among painters and the best painter among actors."

Malerskolens atelier (The studio of the painting school), 1883, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

Together with Edvard Munch , a close bohemian friend from his time in Kristiania and Modum, he traveled to Paris in autumn 1889 to study with the painter Léon Bonnat . After only a week, however, he lost interest and turned back to the theater; Among other things, he attended a Hamlet performance with the then famous actor Jean Mounet-Sully . He described his impressions of Parisian theater life in a multi-part series of articles for the Trondheim newspaper Dagsposten , of which his brother Hjalmar was editor-in-chief. During this time Munch and Løchen lived in the Hotel de Champagne in the bohemian district of Les Batignolles . At times Munch was annoyed with his friend because Løchen had stolen a painting from him to adore a brother. Long after Løchen's death, however, Munch, who otherwise hardly said a word about colleagues, was very positive about his friend's facilities: “Kalle Løchen was definitely the greatest artistic talent we had here [in Norway]. What he created as a very young artist was unique and brilliant. He was only 18 years old when he painted Malerskolens atelier (the studio of the painting school) in Modum - and today it is strangely modern, it reminds of Cézanne , a great picture! ”(1938)

Last years in Bergen and Kristiania

After his return to Bergen, Kalle Løchen played the leading role of the artist Osvald in the Norwegian premiere of Henrik Ibsen's family drama Ghosts in 1890 . The play was banned for years in Norway because of its syphilis and incest themes. Løchen was celebrated for his portrayal. At the same time, he created further portraits and artistic works with theatrical motifs.

In the summer of 1891, Løchen and the Norwegian aviation pioneer, actor and traveling juggler Francesco Cetti, whom he knew from Bergen, took part in a 28-minute gas balloon ride that took him from Tivoli grounds in Kristiania to Bærum . He then wrote a report about his adventure for the daily newspaper Christiania Intelligenssedler - "1,800 meters above my creditors". While this article reflects his own nonchalance and irony, his life took a dramatic turn a short time later. In the spring of 1892 his wife Anna died at the age of only 29. His two daughters Esther and Nanna were assigned to his wife's family and thus separated from him. These processes caused a severe depression in him. He began to neglect his duties as an actor; finally he left the national scene for eastern Norway.

suicide

After a long stay with his sister Helene in Stor-Elvdal , he took on an engagement at the newly opened Carl-Johan-Theater in Kristiania, where he played the murderer and suicide Laurent in Émile Zola's dramatized novel Thérèse Raquin . On November 20, 1893, the theater manager received a telegram with the following wording: “Mr. Olaf Hanson! Good luck for the future. I'm dead. Yours Kalle Løchen. ”Shortly afterwards, Løchen's body and his revolver were found in a wooded area on the Ekeberg in the southeast of Kristianias. On the same day, the 28-year-old actually wanted to marry his colleague Anna Nielsen, to whom he was engaged.

Some Munch biographers and most recently the psychiatrist Finn Skårderud see a connection between Løchen's suicide and the creation of Edvard Munch's well-known series of pictures The Scream . The artist lived in the immediate vicinity of the place where Løchen's body was discovered. The paintings were probably made partly on the Ekeberg; In December 1893 Munch presented the first of his Schrei -Work in Berlin . However, there is no solid evidence for the thesis.

Exhibitions

Fra Kongshavn bad (Part of Kongshavn Bad), 1882, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

The Oslo Art Association (Oslo Kunstforening) honored Kalle Løchen's work in 1928 with a retrospective . On display were 31 works from the artist's narrow oeuvre , which consists of around 50 paintings as well as drawings and decorative artifacts. In connection with several important collective exhibitions in Oslo and Modum, pictures by Løchen were also presented, for example in 1932 (25 years of the autumn exhibition) , 1966 (Kristiania motifs) and 2013 (Munch and his artist friends in Modum) .

Today there are seven central works by Løchen, including Fra Kongshavn bad and Malerskolens atelier , owned by the Oslo National Gallery (Nasjonalgalleriet). The rest of the work is spread across several institutions, e.g. B. to the mountains Billedgalleri , the theater Den Nationale Scene and the Oslo Teatermuseum .

Works (selection)

  • Fra Kongshavn bad (Part of Kongshavn Bad), 1882
  • Etter en søvnløs natt (After a Sleepless Night), 1883
  • Malerskolens atelier (The studio of the painting school), 1883
  • Tak med kvistvindu (roof with attic window ), 1883
  • Cecilie Thoresen Krog , 1885
  • Selvportrett (self-portrait), 1885
  • Teaterskredderen i Bergen (Der Theaterschneider in Bergen), 1886
  • Interiør med datteren Esther (Interior with daughter Esther), 1888
  • Agent Christensen , 1889
  • Portrett av H. Müller (Portrait of H. Müller), 1890
  • Utsikt fra Ekeberg (View from Ekeberg), 1890
  • I skuespillerinnenes garderobe (In the dressing room of the actresses), 1892

literature

Web links

Commons : Kalle Løchen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Ellen J. Lerberg: Kalle Løchen . In: Norsk biografisk leksikon .
  2. ↑ Helene Lassen - en halvglemt stemmerettsforkjemper , sollia.net, June 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c Leif Østby: Kalle Løchen. In: Leif Østbye / Glenny Alfsen / Bodil Sørensen (eds.), Norsk kunstnerleksikon . Volume 2, Oslo 1983, p. 852.
  4. ^ Hans Wiers-Jenssen, Johan Nordahl-Olsen: Den Nationale Scene. De første 25 Aar. Bergen 1926, p. 208 ff.
  5. ↑ a b c d Sverre Følstad: Kalle Løchens ballongferd , minervanett.no, 7 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Kalle Løchen, Fransk Skuespildkunst. In: Dagsposten , November 29, 1889, December 2, 1889 and January 21, 1890.
  7. ↑ Erik Morstad: Edvard Munch: Dannelse og utdannelse. In: Art and culture. Issue 1, 2008, p. 27; Online version .
  8. ↑ Munch-Maleri stjålet! Forholdet he ikke politianmeldt ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blaafarveverket.no archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , blaafarveverket.no, 2013 (accessed January 1, 2015).
  9. ^ Kalle Løchen, Fra Tivoli til Bærum i Ballon. In: Christiania Intelligenssedler , August 18, 1891.
  10. ↑ Finn Skårderud: Munchs selvmord ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blaafarveverket.no archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , blaafarveverket.no, 2013 (accessed January 1, 2015).
  11. ↑ Hilde Solheim: Var han årsaken til at Edvard Munch painted Skrik? In: Aftenposten , November 20, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Løchen, Kalle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Løken, Kalle; Løchen, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian painter and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH May 9, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Fåberg , Oppland Province
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1893
Place of death Kristiania