What is Rosemaling?
Rosemaling is the decorative painting of Norway. The word rosemaling is a compound word of ros (decoration) and male (to paint). Rosemaling has a long, rich history in various regions of Norway, roughly from Trondheim southward. Rosemaling is a diverse art form that has its beginning in churches, where the walls and ceilings were richly decorated. As you walk through the museum, you will see many examples of old and contemporary rosemaling. You will notice variations between the local styles of the old painting, which have been picked up and further developed by contemporary painters. You can appreciate this especially when you view the rosemaling in the annual National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition at Vesterheim.
Styles of Rosemaling
It is difficult to be specific about the number of rosemaling styles due in part to the fact that stylistic boundaries are not easily defined. Many early painters were itinerant and brought their styles with them. As the painters traveled, they freely borrowed from other artists. In some areas, it is difficult to identify a local style, because rosemaling was brought in by artists from outside the area. Today it is easier to stylistically identify the work of contemporary painters. Teachers have passed on the basics of styles and competitions have helped to keep styles somewhat pure. But, unless rosemalers are painting entries for competitions that require them to identify a single style they are using, some might enjoy mixing up the styles a bit to express individuality.
Ale Bowl with Telemark rosemaling, by Thomas Luraas, 1820-1840.
Vesterheim 1977.058.012— Gift of Ruth Herber. 3
