Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Christmas Surprise: The Danish Missionary

For Christmas this year, my husband had a print framed that I purchased many years ago and have been storing ever since. This picture is now on the wall of our living room. The Ovesens were carpenters before and after coming to America, so they would have been familiar with scenes such as this one.


The picture is an Arnold Friberg copy of a painting by the Danish Romantic painter, Christen Dalsgaard. The painting is called Mormoner på besøg hos en tømrer på landet [Mormons visit a country carpenter] (1856). The original is in the Danish National Gallery.

Copy of the picture from Wikipedia. Cross-posted at The Diary of Ove C. Oveson.

8 comments:

  1. I love this picture and have it framed on my wall. I am so intrigued by so many of the details, such as the clothing of the woman sitting. Thanks for sharing it!

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  2. Isn't it a fascinating picture! It sure lends itself to story-telling with the toddler under the table, the blind woman or girl in full Danish costume, the woman by the wall who must be a servant, the neighbor listening at the window, etc. etc.

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  3. Did Arnold Friberg paint this from the original painting of Dalsgaard or how is Arnold Friberg involved in this painting? Thanks, Rian Nelson

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  4. This painting is of enough interest to descendants of the Scandinavian Mormon pioneers that Friberg made a copy of the original. The original is in Copenhagen, Denmark; the copy is on display in the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.

    Here's the catalog entry for the original in the Danish museum:

    http://www.smk.dk/udforsk-kunsten/samlingerne/vaerk-i-kunstdatabase/view/index/Start/kunstvaerk/mormoner-paa-besoeg-hos-en-toemrer-paa-landet/

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  5. Thank you Amy I appreciate the information.

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  6. Hi again Amy. I was also curious when Arnold Friberg started and finished painting this? Any details would be wonderful. I have a website on all types of LDS art from Arnold Friberg and we are hosting an exhibit called "The Lost Book of Mormon Sketches" at the Joseph Smith Building Gold Room in Salt Lake Oct. 2-6 during LDS Conference week, that is free to the public 9 am to 9 pm. I would love that the lovers of Friberg can see these amazing never before seen sketches that preceded his Book of Mormon Paintings. Our website is lostbookofmormonsketches.com and if you email me I will give you the temporary password if you need it. riannelson@aol.com Thanks, Rian Nelson

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  7. By the way Amy, the Nelson side of my family is from Copenhagen and the Tueller side is from Switzerland. I now know why when I first saw this painting it became my favorite. I loved Friberg, loved the "Mormon Preachers" title, loved the scared little girl, the preacher, the color and all the other wonders of this painting but now knowing it is about my ancestors is fantastic. Thanks for listening. Rian

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