Forests, Rocks, Torrents: Norwegian and Swiss Landscapes, National Gallery

They celebrated their native land but with imaginations too firmly grounded

by Marina VaizeyWednesday, 20 July 2011

'Cliffs of Seelisberg': Alexandre Calame admires the blue, green and turquoise waters of Lake Lucerne

The National Gallery has in recent years made a speciality of examining the hitherto unexamined. Just for starters, a surprise hit some years ago was Spanish Still Lifes, 2007 saw Renoir Landscapes (who knew?), last year there was the ravishing Christen Kobke, star of the Danish Golden Age, and just this spring New York’s Ashcan School, all with committed scholarship throwing light on the internationally disregarded.

Lake Keitele: A Vision of Finland review, National Gallery - light-filled northern vistas

Explore topics

Share this article

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Visual arts

Peter Kennard: Archive of Dissent, Whitechapel Gallery review - photomontages sizzling with rage Fifty years of political protest by a master craftsman

Dominique White: Deadweight, Whitechapel Gallery review - sculptures that seem freighted with history Dunked in the sea to give them a patina of age, sculptures that feel timeless

Bill Viola (1951-2024) - a personal tribute Video art and the transcendent

In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine 1900-1930s, Royal Academy review - famous avant-garde Russian artists who weren't Russian after all A glimpse of important Ukrainian artists

Francis Alÿs: Ricochets, Barbican review - fun for the kids, yet I was moved to tears How to be serious and light hearted at the same time

Gavin Jantjes: To Be Free, Whitechapel Gallery review - a sweet and sour response to horrific circumstances Seething anger is cradled within beautiful images

Laura Aldridge / Andrew Sim, Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh review - lightness and joy Two Scottish artists explore childhood and play

Judy Chicago: Revelations, Serpentine Gallery review - art designed to change the world At 84, the American pioneer is a force to be reckoned with

Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920, Tate Britain review - a triumph Rescued from obscurity, 100 women artists prove just how good they can be

Brancusi, Pompidou Centre, Paris review - a sculptor's spiritual quest for form and essence The Paris landmark signs off with a historic survey

Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider, Tate Modern review - a missed opportunity Wonderful paintings, but only half the story

Eye to Eye: Homage to Ernst Scheidegger, MASI Lugano review - era-defining artist portraits One of Switzerland's greatest photographers celebrated with a major retrospective

Follow @theartsdesk