3-050-294 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Stetind in Fog, 1864. Additional Info: The dramatic, precipitous, and inaccessible mountain formations along the Northern Norwegian coast impressed Peder Balke during his first lengthy journey to the northern parts of Norway in 1832. In The Mountain Stetind in Fog, the spiky mountain top seems to resemble a spire, towering in all its glory above the waves washing ashore. Balke has placed the mountain at the centre of the composition, with a relatively low-lying horizontal line and a grey belt of fog dominating the middle ground. People also figure in the composition: two boats are out braving the winds, while a small group of people stand on a crag and gaze out toward the sea. The figures provide us with a sort of yardstick for humanity’s relation with the forces of nature, the very creed of romanticism. The elongated format, lack of detail, and Balke’s characteristic technique and palette underscore the composition’s dramatic perspective.