Johan Nordhagen
1856–1956 · Norwegian painter, graphic artist and educator
Johan Nordhagen (Veldre, Hedmark, 1856 – Oslo, 1956) was a Norwegian painter, printmaker and teacher who played a central role in establishing the teaching of graphic art in his country. His long life spanned more than eight decades of artistic activity, making him a notable figure in Norwegian printmaking from the late nineteenth into the twentieth century.
Born into a poor family in Ringsaker, he grew up on the Flisaker farm and drew constantly as a child. Around the age of seventeen he moved to Kristiania, now Oslo, where he worked in the bookshop of the Luther Foundation. His talent for drawing led him to study at the Royal School of Drawing, and he later worked as a lithographer and terrain draughtsman for the national mapping authority. With scholarships he traveled to Copenhagen and Paris, and in 1898–99 he trained in Berlin under Karl Köpping.
His output was very large, above all in lithography and etching, though he also made drawings and paintings. Many of his subjects came from Ringsaker and Veldrebygda, including portraits of local people, clothing, trades, interiors and building customs.
In 1899 a class in etching was established at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry, and he directed the school for twenty years. His legacy lives on in Norwegian printmaking education, in the graphic works preserved by the Veldre Historical Society and in postcards based on some of his motifs.