Adolphe Tidemand, Norwegian Artist, Lutheran

Some are familiar with a painting entitled "Distribution of the Sacrament to the Aged and Infirm according to Lutheran Form."

The original painting was done by Adolphe Tidemand in 1862, and depicts a pastor in the traditional attire of the Church of Norway. He is in an old farmhouse in the Hardanger region of Norway, surrounded by the sick and the aged from that area of the parish. The farmhouse is of log construction similar to those build in that region for several hundred years. The artist has included much detail which gives a glimpse into farm life and the people in those times.

The original painting dominates one wall of the Elveseter Hotel in Elveseter, Norway, which is about 100 miles north and west of Lillehammar, The original, owned by the Elveseter family, is over 4 feet by 6 feet in size and was on displaying an international exhibit in 1862.

The reproduction was used as the cover of a Sunday bulletin by the Lutheran church in America in 1978, and attracted the attention of a number of people because of their Scandinavian background and the pastoral care and feelings expressed in the painting.

About the Artist

Adolphe Tidemand was born in Mandal, Norway, August 14, 1814, and died in Oslo, August 25, 1876. He studied in Copenhagen and Dusseldorf, settling permanently in Dusseldorf in 1849 where he was a teacher in the Dusseldorf school. He spent the summer months in Norway.

His work was recognized with awards in Berlin 1848; Paris, 1855; Vienna, 1873; and he was the recipient of the Swedish Order of Vasa, Norwegian Order of Olaf, and Prussian Order of Red Eagle.

Tidemand painted 500 works and 150 of these are currently in the National Gallery in Oslo. He painted several works for the Kind of Norway and for the University of Oslo.

Until the time of Tidemand, no Norwegian artist had devoted his talents wholly to depicting the Norwegian folk type and the farmer, his tradition, culture, architecture, costumes, his simple, deep emotions and religious faith. The painting, "Distribution of the Sacrament," displays all of these features. He portrayed romantically and realistically the life of the people, whether in a marriage, a funeral or the peace of a Sunday in the country. His most recognized work is "The Disciples of Hauge" which dates from 1848 and depicts a lay preacher, of the sect founded by Hans Hague, conducting a prayer meeting in an old Norwegian cabin. One of his most popular works, "Catechization in a Norwegian Country Church," hangs in the palace in Oslo.

"Throughout Norway his renown has long since overshadowed that of all others in the popular estimation, and in Germany at the height of his career he was reckoned among the most prominent painters in the Germanic world . . . and in Norway among the generality of the people he is still probably our most beloved painter."Quotations from Laurin, C., Hannover, E. 7 Thiks, J. Scandinavian Art, London: American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1922.