Knud Knudsen (photographer)

Knud Knudsen ( born January 3, 1832 in Odda, Norway, † May 21, 1915 in Bergen, Norway ) was one of the most important Scandinavian Photo pioneers of the pictorial representations of the landscapes of northern Europe - impressed - especially Norway. He was first in his home country as Pomologe known. Its adjacent thereto from the mid-1860s work as a photographer brought out an extensive country of origin artistic reputation of his person.

In the photograph of the 19th century Knudsen had especially landscape photography faces, often associated with motifs, in which he documented the traditional customs of the indigenous population. One of his specialties was the stereoscopy means of which it produced an effect of spatial vision in some of his pictures.

Life and work

Knud Knudsen was the son of a grocer. The family farmed in Hardanger, a region in the southwest of the Norwegian Hordaland also an agricultural enterprise.

In addition to a commercial apprenticeship in the provincial capital mountains he first completed a basket Make Out Education before in him arose the interest in fruit growing.

During visits to the family farm on the Hardangerfjord Knudsen where he founded one of the first nurseries in Norway, where he grew foreign fruits, and first the Hardanger Apple, one of today's most well-known Norwegian apple varieties bred. In a fruit exhibition in 1860 in Bergen Knudsen received the award for the largest species diversity.

Funded by a scholarship from the Norwegian government in 1862, he traveled to the Kingdom of Württemberg in Reutlingen at the foot of the Swabian Alb. There, in the Pomological Institute, one of the then most important fruit growing institutes in Europe, he studied further six months.

To document his trip through the states of the German Confederation, to Knudsen had purchased a photographic equipment, which he used in his spare time to the city and landscape images - partly in stereoscopic method - hold. This technique produced recordings are among the oldest historical photographs of the destination of Knudsen cities, especially regarding the stereoscopic display.

After returning from his Pomological training in Reutlingen Knudsen increasingly neglected orchards, and turned in the episode entirely to photography, especially landscape photography. It opened in 1864, a photo studio in Bergen. The reasons for the termination of his career Pomological are not understood. It is assumed that lack of a sense of achievement due to two years of bad harvests in succession.

However, Knudsen was also very successful as a photographer. He traveled the country, and was the first to the landscapes of Norway systematically held in particular photographs.

Aftereffect, reception

Knud Knudsen's photographic estate, which is archived for the most part in the University Library of Bergen, contains about 16,000 images, many of which exist as stereo copies.

The city of Reutlingen, photographic career basically started in the Knudsen, fetched 1997 essential Reutlinger city photographs on loan early in the site of action of the photographic pioneer, and presented the relevant works that are among the oldest photographic testimonies of the historic townscape, in a special exhibition at the Reutlinger Heritage Museum.