The case in summary: A family accidentally discovered that the sculpture they had standing was an unknown work by Ambrosia Tønnesen, Norway’s first professional female sculptor. The family contacted the Kode art museum, which was able to borrow the work, called “A crab”. The sculpture is now centrally located in the largest exhibition of works by Ambrosia recently, at the Kode art museum. The sculpture is one of the few known works from the time Tønnesen was in Paris. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I got goosebumps! I wanted to say hooray! And call people and say “look what has happened”! For several decades, curator and art historian Jorunn Veiteberg has been looking for the nude figure “Bathing woman/A crab” by the Bergen artist Ambrosia Tønnesen. – Ambrosia Tønnesen is important for art history and a model for women, for what women can and could do, says Veiteberg. Last week, Kode Art Museum opened the biggest exhibition about ho nokosinne. Centrally located is a rare work that nobody knew about. “A crab” stands in the middle of the room in the exhibition of Ambrosia Tønnesen’s work at the Kode Art Museum in Bergen. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news It was by chance that they discovered the artist The tiny, but heavy marble sculpture has for many years been sitting in a corner with a family in Austlandet. They wish to remain anonymous, but have told the museum about the find. During a cleaning session, they turned the heirloom over a bit and accidentally discovered the signature on the back: “Ambrosia Tønnesen, Paris, 1892.” A web search for the name led them to come across the museum’s call for works by the artist. Then they made contact. – We quickly realized that we were standing above a previously unknown work that we would very much like to borrow, says Kode curator Tove Haugsbø. – The owners were surprised when they realized that the sculpture was made by such a central artist. Ambrosia Tønnesen (1859-1948) was Norway’s first professional female sculptor. She cut her hair short early on. Ambrosia had to go to a private academy in Paris to be allowed to study nude models. It was not suitable for women to do otherwise. She also broke with the women’s dress fashion of the time, and liked to wear cycling trousers. It made the job easier. Here with a statue of the painter JC Dahl. JC Dahl now sits on the facade of the Permanenten museum building in Bergen. Although she was born in Ålesund in 1859, Ambrosia lived and worked for large parts of her life in Bergen. She also had periods in Paris, Copenhagen and Berlin. Synnøve des Bouvrie The family agreed to lend the poor woman and the crab. The museum is responsible for transport costs and handling. – It weighed at least 30 kilos, says Ole Morten Schau. The museum technician wears plastic gloves when he has to carefully lift the heavy sculpture onto the yellow plinth. No fingerprints with oily skin or dirt must be on the artwork. Museum technician Ole Morten Schau measures to ensure the best placement of the piece of plastic the sculpture will stand on to protect against the yellow measurement. Curator Tove Haugsbø follows along. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news When the sculpture is in place, curator Tove Haugsbø checks how the light fell and the relationship to other exhibited works. She smiles excitedly. – It looks so nice! For us, this has been one of the highlights of working with Tønnesen! – It is very unique that we have discovered the crab, included it in the exhibition, and that it is one of the few works from the Paris era with exact dating, says Haugsbø. Behind “Ein krabbe” stands the vengeful “Hjørdis”, one of Tønnesen’s less common works. She is on her way to kill a man. The work is inspired by Ibsen’s army men from Helgeland. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news – Classical act study Curator Jorunn Veiteberg believed for a long time that “A crab” was just a variation of another work called “A bathing woman”. Because until now the crab was only something they found traces of in the note to the artist, while they have a photo of the bathing woman. But then the phone came from the family in the east. – Now it is clear that there are two different works. We see that there is a woman who is about to go out for a swim, and then she sees a crab: Oh, that was scary, says Veiteberg. – It is a classic nude study, she braces one foot and the opposite side of the upper body. A typical feature of Tønnesen’s sculptures is that they catch the blink of an eye before something happens, Haugsbø believes. – The crab is on its way, maybe it wants to bite your toe, but it’s just the blink of an eye when it pulls away, she says. The curators are still looking for the bathing woman – without a crab. A crab lurks at the woman’s feet. The woman is skeptical of the crab. The woman is missing some fingers. It is unknown what happened a long time ago. The museum is considering whether to glue them back on. Got women on a plinth In the exhibition that opened on Thursday evening, the public can also see other sculptures, paintings, reliefs and busts. In the spring, Bergen municipality will also honor Ambrosia with its own work of art. Ambrosia Tønnesen was preoccupied with being true to nature, and does not have the great controversial artistry. But she got the women up on a pedestal. – She is the one who portrays Camilla Collett, Amalie Skram, Gina Krogh. Some of the other artists and women’s advocates who went to the front for voting rights and jobs for women, says Veiteberg. Edvard Grieg modeled the bust of himself. That is to say, Ambrosia asked him to walk around the room, and not sit still. One of several reliefs with great detail. Several such are in cemeteries around Bergen. Busts were often commissioned works. Ole Bull statue on loan from Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. Self-portrait of the artist himself. Published 22.10.2024, at 21.13
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