![Johan Christian Dahl - The Fjord at Holmestrand [1843]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7662/16999665309_898eb8ceb8_o.jpg)
Johan Christian Dahl (Bergen, February 24, 1788 - Dresden, October, 14, 1857) was a Norwegian artist who is considered the first great romantic painter in Norway, the founder of the "golden age" of Norwegian painting, and one of the greatest European artists of all time. He is often described as "the father of Norwegian landscape painting” and is regarded as the first Norwegian Painter ever to reach a level of artistic accomplishment comparable to that attained by the greatest European artists of his day. Although Dahl spent much of his life outside of Norway, his love for his country is clear in the motifs he chose for his paintings and in his extraordinary efforts on behalf of Norwegian culture generally.
[Alte und Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin - Oil on canvas]