Schwitters on Norway

A reevaluation of Kurt Schwitters´s work in Norway as an important contribution to modern art.
In the thirties, anyone traveling to Djupvasshytta, not far from the Geiranger Fjord, might have had run into Kurt Schwitters, who sold his landscapes and portraits to tourists there. Schwitters (1887-1948) had discovered the beauty of Norway during his first trip there in 1929, and for years he spent his holidays in the northwestern part of the country. In January 1937, the artist followed his son Ernst into exile. He constructed his second Merzbau, the ´Haus am Bakken´ (House on the Slope), near Oslo, where he remained until the Germans moved in to occupy the country in April 1940. This publication is the first to examine the special quality of the collages and assemblages created during this very productive period of the artist´s life. Stylistically, they were looser, and in terms of form, freer, and color took on heightened importance. Schwitters made increasing use of natural materials, such as stone, driftwood, and feathers. His painting was also influenced by his Norwegian surroundings - in addition to his abstract works, he produced numerous landscapes.