A Mountain Stream

Frits Thaulow can be regarded as an artist unique in a number of respects. He was the first Norwegian painter acclaimed in Europe and beyond. However, even at the turn of the 20th century, amid artistic revolutions and experiments, Thaulow stayed with the traditional school and never betrayed his favorite genre. The only thing he owed to Impressionists was the habit of painting en plein air, which helped him more truly show the colors of nature and lighting effects at different times of the day. Apart from that, Thaulow’s paintings were realistic. He thought most highly of those of them that were painted in small towns and unfrequented spots of Norway and France. A Mountain Stream is perhaps one of such works.

Frits Thaulow’s teacher, Carl Frederik Sørensen from Denmark, was famous for his seascapes. So, water became young Thaulow’s favourite subject, and this attachment appeared to be lifelong. He painted water as though it was a living being, with a highly individual character and changing moods.
Another great love of Thaulow’s was snow. Which is not surprising, as he was born in Norway and lived there a considerable part of his life. His winter landscapes, even the bleak and desolate ones, do not seem gloomy or depressing. Just fancy, in winter, it is only an hour and a half of daylight in Norway. But Thaulow, painting en plein air, was able to capture scarce rays of sunshine glistening on the snow surface. Thaulow’s two loves met in the canvas A Mountain Stream.

Thaulow was on friendly terms with the Russian painters Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin. In 1895, he even had an exhibition in St. Petersburg where he displayed some of his works. They were praised by the public, critics, and his colleagues. He noticeably influenced Russian painters of the time. One of them, Alexandre Benois, believed Thaulow, as an artist, was second to none but Claude Monet.