Christian Skredsvig

Christian Skredsvig (1854 - 1924) was a Norwegian painter and writer.

Christian Skredsvig was born in Modum, Buskerud in 1854. When he was 15 years old he became a pupil at the Eckersberg drawing and paint school in Christiania (now Oslo). He later studied in Copenhagen, Munich and Paris. In 1881 he won, as the only Norwegian artist, the gold medal for the painting Une ferme à Venoix (A farm in Venoix) at the Saloon in Paris. After many years in Paris he moved back to Norway in 1886 and settled in Fleskum, Bærum. Skredsvig's famous neo-romantic painting Seljefløiten (The sallow flute, 1889) was painted by the lake Dælivannet in Bærum.

He was married to Maggie Plathe from Høvik for 12 years, but was divorced in 1894, and he then moved to Eggedal in Sigdal municipality where he built his home Hagan, museum from 1970. In 1898 he married Beret Berg from Eggedal. They got four children. In the nature of Eggedal Skredsvig found inspiration and motives to paint. The most famous are perhaps Idyll and Jupsjøen (The deep sea). In 1896 Skredsvig's good friend and fellow student from the years in Munich, the painter Theodor Kittelsen, also settled in Sigdal, shortly after having visited Skredsvig in his new home.

Skredsvig's autobiography Dager og netter blant kunstnere (Days and nights amongst artists) was published in 1908, and was followed by the novels Møllerens Søn (The miller's son) and Evens hjemkomst (Even's home-coming).

Skredsvig lived in Hagan in Eggedal until his death in 1924.

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