Just five years old, poor little Thomas Fearnley was sent to Christiania (modern-day Oslo) to live with his aunt and uncle. This early turn in his life, however, proved to be a stroke of luck. For it so happened that he was accepted at the Norwegian Military Academy. And this was one of the few places in Norway at the time where one could learn to draw professionally. Unfortunately, Thomas had difficulties with discipline and broke off his military education at 17. But he remained faithful to drawing and attended evening classes at the then newly opened Tegneskolen (drawing school). He was a gifted student. And so two of Fearnley's paintings were shown in the drawing school's first public exhibition. The young artist's drawings hung on equal footing with prominent names in Norwegian art history, such as J. C. Dahl and Johannes Flintoe. The exhibition, at which Thomas was thus in the thick of things, caused a sensation. For the first time, residents of the capital were able to see their homeland through the eyes of an artist and rediscover Norway's magnificent natural beauty.
As innovative as the drawing school was, artistic opportunities for young aspiring artists were very limited in Norway. So Thomas decided to continue his studies in Copenhagen and Dresden, England, Holland and Stockholm. The decision to go to Sweden proved to be another fortunate coincidence in his life. For the Swedish royal family commissioned several paintings from him. Despite his success, however, he did not last long in Stockholm. Soon after, Fearnley set off for Italy. He covered the distance from Munich over the Alps to Verona on foot. It was a cold and wet trip. One of his companions and friends, the Danish painter William Bendz, caught pneumonia on the way and died shortly after arriving in bella Italia.
Thomas himself stayed in Italy for two years, perfecting his technique of light incidence and shadow casting. When he finally set out on his return journey, he chose the route over the Bernese Alps and found there that motif which was to become one of his main motifs: the Upper Grindelwald Glacier, which at that time still reached down to the village and was easily accessible to tourists. Today, due to climate change, only a remnant of the once massive glacier remains. But Fearley's paintings have memorialized it. His contemporaries often spoke of him reverently as "The European," for he was a well-traveled man. His friends appreciated him for "always being willing to share a good bottle of wine." And posterity? Although Thomas Fearnley died of thyphoid fever at the age of just 39, he still left a great mark on the art world and history. His grave is in Oslo, in the grove of honor at Vår Frelsers Cemetery.
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.jpg "The Hunt Near Königssee von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Landscape with Wanderer von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Pergola with Oranges von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Labrofossen near Kongsberg von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Norwegian Waterfall von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace in Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Painter and the Boy von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Labro Falls at Kongsberg von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Grindelwald Glacier von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Hunting Waterfowl von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace with Oak, Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Bridge of Hauge outside Arendal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Boats and Waterlilies von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Pergola with Oranges, c. 1834 von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Balestrand at the Sognefjord von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Forest in Romsdal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Grindelwald Glacier von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "A Terrace in Amalfi in Moonlight von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Aurland in Sogn von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "View Over Naples Gulf von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Landscape with Wanderer von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Lower Grindelwald Glacier von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Aurdal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "An Autumn Morning at Konigssee von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1544524).jpg "Forum in Pompeii von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Grindelwald, Switzerland von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Labro Falls, 1824-42 von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace in Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Tjugum Church, Balestrand von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Balestrand at the Sognefjord von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Turner Varnishing von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Birch Stocks in Romsdal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Hilly Landscape with a River in the Valley von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Aurdal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Grindewald, Switzerland von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1647312).jpg "The Painter and the Boy, c.1834 von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Boats on the beach Amalfi von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Haugfoss von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Tistedalen von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace in Amalfi von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Munich After the Storm von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Aurland in Sogn von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1127977).jpg "Ramsau von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace in Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "At the Beach von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Landscape with Cliffs, Trees, and a River von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace with Oak, Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1647310).jpg "View of Olevano, c.1834 von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "View of Meissen von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Krokkleiva von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1315781).jpg "A View of Vesuvius von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Gravensfjord von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Fishermen at Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1421877).jpg "Pergola with Oranges von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Orange Pergola, Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Study from Grindewald Glacier von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace with stone oak, Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Munich after the Thunderstorm von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "A Waterspout on the Bay of Naples von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Road in Coniferous Forest von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Slindrebirken von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Akers River von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Vico near Napoli von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Romsdal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace in Procida von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Fishermen at Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Palermo von Thomas Fearnley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1429322).jpg "A Terrace in Amalfi in Moonlight von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "View over Tistedal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Whitewater. Nature Study von Thomas Fearnley")
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_1843_National_Mu_-_(MeisterDrucke-1323079).jpg "The Bridge at Arendal, Norway von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Painters Fearnley, Achenbach, Breslauer Fishing von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "A Terrace in Amalfi in Moonlight von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Grindelwald Glacier von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "The Bridge of Hauge outside Arendal von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "From Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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.jpg "Terrace with Oak, Sorrento von Thomas Fearnley")
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