Oscar Wergeland
Oscar Arnold Wergeland (12 October 1844 – 20 May 1910) was a Norwegian painter. He is best known for his historical painting of the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll (Riksforsamlingen på Eidsvoll 1814). Two of his paintings are located in the National Gallery of Norway.
Family
His parents were Sverre Nicolai Wergeland (1817–1896) and Anne Margrethe Larsen (1817–1889). His sister was Agnes Mathilde Wergeland (1857–1914), who emigrated to the United States and became known as an author. He was the great-nephew of Nicolai Wergeland, a Norwegian priest, writer, and politician, and a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. Hence Henrik Wergeland, Camilla Collett, and Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland were cousins of his father.
Biography
Wergeland was born in Oslo, Norway. Several of his siblings died early, and his father went to America around 1860. He was a student of David Arnesen (1818–1895) during 1859 and of the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry from 1865 to 1867. He also attended the art school operated by Johan Fredrik Eckersberg (1822–1870) from 1865 to 1869. He was a student at the Copenhagen art academy in 1869. He studied history painting in Munich 1874 – 1876, and lived in Munich until 1889. From 1889 he was teaching at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Kristiania.
Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland
Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland (17 November 1815 – 19 August 1895) was a Norwegian military officer, cartographer and skiing pioneer.
Personal life
Wergeland was born in Christianssand and grew up at Eidsvold. He was the son of priest and politician Nicolai Wergeland, and a brother of the poet Henrik Wergeland and feminist writer Camilla Collett. His cousin was military officer Harald Nicolai Storm Wergeland. In 1859 he returned to Christianssand, where he stayed the rest of his life.
Career
Wergeland had many talents. He became a military officer in 1834, a First Lieutenant in 1839, Lieutenant Colonel in 1866, Colonel in 1868, and Major General in 1880.
He worked 11 years as a cartographer for the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority, where he drew the first official Norwegian county maps (the first issued was Christians Amt in 1845). He drew the first large and detailed map of Norway for use in schools. He was a teacher in drawing and calligraphy at the Norwegian Military Academy. He was orderly officer for the King. He was a member of the committee for the Hoved Line, Norway's first railway line, and several road constructions. As an eager sportsman and skier, he initiated military skiing divisions, and wrote a book about the history of skiing and its military applications. He is regarded as the founder of the sports clubs Christianssand ski- og skøyteklubb (1862) and Oddersjaa (1875).
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