![]() ![]() Dahl occupies a central position in Norwegian artistic life of the first half of the 19th century.Īlthough Dahl spent much of his life outside of Norway, his love for his country is clear in the motifs he chose for his paintings and in his extraordinary efforts on behalf of Norwegian culture generally. He was also the first to acquire genuine fame and cultural renown abroad. He is often described as "the father of Norwegian landscape painting" and is regarded as the first Norwegian painter to reach a level of artistic accomplishment comparable to that attained by the greatest European artists of his day. Dahl, was a Danish-Norwegian artist who is considered the first great romantic painter in Norway, the founder of the "golden age" of Norwegian painting, and, by some, one of the greatest European artists of all time. For those interested, there is a whole website dedicated to Stave churches – STAVECHURCHCOM.Johan Christian Claussen Dahl, often known as J. Apart from Gol, other prominent stave churches include Borgund (1180, Lærdal), Heddal which is the largest (13thC, Notodden), and Urnes, the oldest (1130, Luster). Two of these have been reconstructed from rediscovered elements, but the others have survived in situ. Today there are 28 remaining stave churches. By the time of the reformation (1537), this number had increased to as many as 2000. Before the appearance of the Black Death in Norway in 1349 it is thought that there were 1000 stave churches across the country. It would be hard to find a better example of advanced framing techniques from the Middle Ages. ![]() The remaining Norwegian stave churches offer a glimpse into an oft-forgotten craft. The interior of Gol Church ceiling, festooned with Geitsfuss carvings (chiseling was done with a tool called a geitsfuss, meaning “goat’s foot”). These frames were filled with upright planks joined by tongue and groove. The wall frames were built up and held together at the top by the ground beams, posts and wall plates. Andrew’s crosses to improve their structure. The upper portions of Stave churches therefore often use arched brackets, or St. Staves set on ground beams of course need strong strutting. The crosses and dragons found on the eaves and gables of stave churches were added to keep the church safe from harm, in the same way that the prows of Viking ships were festooned with dragon heads to protect the crews from the unknown of the deep. Medieval people believed that evil spirits roamed the countryside bringing misfortune. The architecture of stave churches was inherently influenced by medieval beliefs. The stave churches were based on a highly refined structural system, and are examples of some of the finest wooden buildings in Europe. The stave churches of Norway have no real parallel in Europe, due to their intricacy – steep, shingled roofs rising one above the other, ornamented with dragon heads with flickering, outstretched tongues – almost fantastical in form. Some of these churches were simple rectangles, others were similar to stone cathedrals with freestanding pillars. Even though stone was being used to build churches, in Norway Stave churches were still being built throughout the Middle Ages. From about 1100, posts were set on beams laid on stone foundations. ![]() Forerunners of Norwegian stave buildings likely had posts which were dug into the ground, which made them susceptible to rotting. The staves usually rested on a foundation of stone. The post-and-lintel method of construction form the buildings load-bearing element. The name derives from the Old Norse stafr, and the term meant a pillar or post – the vertical posts in the stave building’s framework. The Norwegian word for stave churches is stavkirker. While the remainder of Europe was starting to use stone for its ecclesiastical buildings, the Norwegians built churches of wood. These churches were built between 10 AD and blended both pagan and Christian elements. In such a thinly-populated country, few public buildings graced the landscape during the medieval period, the exception being the stave church. But these wooden churches underpin the wood culture that was to follow. The roofs seem dark and foreboding, festooned with snakes and dragons peering down from the heights. If you came across a Stave church on a dark and gloomy night, you would think there was something untowardly sinister about it. ![]()
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