Albertine in the Police Doctor's Waiting-Room
Albertine at the Police Doctor's Waiting Room | |
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Norwegian: Albertine i politilægens venteværelse | |
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Artist | Christian Krohg |
Year | 1887 |
Type | Oil, on canvas |
Location | National Gallery, Oslo |
Albertine i politilægens venteværelse (English: Albertine at the Police Doctor's Waiting Room; finished 1887) is the title of a naturalist painting by Norwegian artist Christian Krohg, showing the scene in a waiting room.
Albertine i politilægens venteværelse is regarded as Krohg's principal work as a social painter. The painting touched the taboo subject of sexual life, and led to a heated debate among his contemporaries. The format of the painting is unusually large; people are portrayed in full scale. The painting is held in the National Gallery in Oslo.[1]
The painting
The painting depicts a situation in the police doctor's waiting room. "Albertine" is the next person to enter the examination room. She is dressed in a simple costume, in contrast to the other women in the room, who are dolled up in colorful dresses, typical of the prostitutes of the period.[1]
Ownership history
The painting was placed in a shack for nearly twenty years, until it was eventually sold. In 1907 the buyer resold the painting to the National Gallery of Norway.[2]
Related works
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/C_Krohg-Trett.jpg/150px-C_Krohg-Trett.jpg)
Krohg had made several earlier paintings based on the fate of the unmarried seamstress "Albertine", who eventually is forced into prostitution due to the social system of the time. Other related paintings are Daggry from 1880 (at Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen), Sypiken from 1881 (at Göteborgs Konstmuseum) and Trett from 1885 (at the National Gallery in Oslo).[1] He also explored the subject in the novel Albertine, written in 1886.[3][4] The debate following the publishing and confiscation of the novel expedited the abolition of public prostitution in Norway.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Berg, Knut (1991). Norges Malerkunst (in Norwegian). Vol. 1. Oslo: Gyldendal. pp. 430–431. ISBN 82-05-20587-6.
- ^ Beyer, Edvard (1975). Norges Litteraturhistorie (in Norwegian). Vol. 3. Oslo: Cappelen. p. 589. ISBN 82-02-02996-1.
- ^ Berg, Knut. "Christian Krohg". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Jæger, Henrik (1896). Illustreret norsk Literaturhistorie (in Norwegian). Vol. 2. Kristiania: Hjalmar Biglers forlag. pp. 886–887.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Beyer, Edvard. "Albertine". In Henriksen, Petter (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 22 September 2011.