Rosemaling - The Decorative Painting of Norway

 

As the great-granddaughter of immigrants, I'm always interested in the foods, culture, art, and music that our ancestors brought with them from their native countries.

And I enjoy creating main and secondary characters who have immigrated from distant shores. 

So, in my current wip, I again created a FMC from Norway. Admittedly, I knew next to nothing about Norway, its people, its food, or culture. I spent several days online researching these amazing but complex people. One of the art forms, rosemaling, caught my interest immediately.

The term, rosemaling, is likely based on the flower "rose" and "maling" meaning "painting". However, some dialects within Norway use the word "rose" to mean "to decorate". Combined, rosemaling can also mean "decorative painting".

Rosemaling Doorknobs

History

During the 1700s and 1800s, ornamental painting was spreading throughout Europe. With Norway's strong tradition of woodcarving, metal work and decorative weaving, decorative painting was a good fit, and this joyful world of color and flowing floral patterns, unique to each region rose in popularity.

For about one hundred years, rosemaling was all the rage. Everything made of wood was painted...the walls, ceilings, bed and built-in cupboards. Freestanding objects such as bowls, trunks, dressers, clocks, and sleighs were especially popular to paint.

In the early-to-mid 1800s, the first wave of Norwegian immigrants hit the shores of the United States. Maintaining a strong ethnic identity both privately and publicly, these immigrants brought along some of their most treasured decorated objects such as trunks and bowls. Many of the skilled rosemalers--primarily men--also left Norway and traveled across the ocean. With them they brought the art of rosemaling and continued their work in America.

Per Lysne is often considered the father of rosemaling in the United States. He learned the art from his father in the 1800s in Norway and brought his skills after migrating to Wisconsin. He painted and sold items for extra income in the wake of the Great Depression. His work was featured in several newspapers and magazines, spreading the word about his work and the painting style. He is particularly known for his smorgasbord plates.

Currently, there is now a growing segment of Norwegian-Americans from the Upper Midwest who have taken on Rosemaling painting, offering more ways for them to pass on rosemaling skills and traditions to future generations.

Styles

Typically, backgrounds are white, red, black, blue or orange. Designs include geometric shapes such as cubes and squares, and architectural motifs as churches or fine houses. Flowers, both symmetrical and asymmetrical are grouped on stems with heavy line details on leaves. Transparent, bright colors, and saw-toothed borders, C and S strokes, scrolls, flowing lines, floral elements, dots and teardrops, and cross-hatching are also used.

Os Style - Coming from the west coast of Norway, the Os style of Rosemaling is distinctively bright and cheerful. Flowers are abstract and the use of geometric shapes is a hallmark of this style. 

The striking feature of Hallingdal is a central flower around which all things gather symmetrically. Scrolls and flowers are painted with vibrant bold colors.

Greatly imitating the woodcarving of the time, the predominant scrolls and leaves of Gudbrandsdal are painted to show great depth and dimension. The portrayal of the gradations of light to dark are the hallmarks of this style.

Flower elements are a predominant feature of Valdres Rosemaling with scrolls taking a secondary role or no part at all.

The asymmetrical Telemark style is defined by the signature C scroll which forms the framework from which all other elements in the design grow.

In my upcoming release, Lefse by Linnea (Old Timey Holiday Kitchen series), Linnea Nyland finds something tucked away in a Rosemaling chest similar to the one pictured below.

He made a promise to a dying friend.

She vowed never to love again.

 "You've become a recluse."

Linnea Nyland heard the concern in her sister's voice. Still filled with grief and missing her husband a year after his unexpected passing, she didn't have the inclination to disagree with the statement. Though she dearly missed working her magic in the family bakery, she liked her life on the farm just the way it was...solitary.

Especially after Deputy Finn McBride came calling with his ridiculous proposal of marriage!

In a moment of panic, Finn made a heart pledge to Erik Nyland to take care of Linnea, to marry her. He'd bungled his first attempt and he's not sure his heart can endure the vow he made knowing he'd been in love with her from the day he came to Holly Springs.

Giving it one last try, he challenges her to a holiday baking competition. If he wins, she must agree to let him court...if she wins, he'll leave her alone...forever.

Throw in a matchmaking landlady, a Norwegian Buhund dog, and a missing special ingredient, the lonely deputy prays for a Christmas miracle.

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