Situated on a steep hill, with the most magnificent view out over Jølstervatnet, you find the farmstead of the late Norwegian painter Nikolai Astrup (1880-1928)
For years I have wanted to stop at Astruptunet, and one sunny morning Terje and I were the first visitors to arrive.
We were met by the seducing smell of freshly made waffles, and a nice guide was ready to take us along, into all the different small houses of the farm, where Nikolai and his growing family lived.
The rooms look today more or less as they did 100 years ago, at least in the oldest buldings. On the walls there were reproductions of Astrups' paintings. Originals were gathered and displayed in a new building close to the old farm.
For years I have been charmed by Astrup's paintings, their gullibility (is that a word I can use? I found it through a translation program but have never heard it before......)all the secrets they contain and which you need children's eyes to find, their vibrant, deep colours.
I walked around, listened to the young guide, watched the paintings, but again and again I was distracted by the fabrics in the small rooms. A pillow, a curtain, a tablecloth.......... painted in simple though absolutely charming patterns.
In one room the same pattern was also found on wooden boxes.
"Listen" I told the guide, "do you know anything about these handprinted textiles? They are amazing in their simplicity."
"Of course I can tell you about them", the young man smiled. "Some of the weavings you find are made by Nikolai's mother, using patterns he made for her, but most of the textiles, and all the printed ones, were made by Engel, Nikolai's wife."
The place is called Astruptunet (The Astrup Homestead) and I have always connected it with Nikolai Astrup. Something was revealed for me that day. A new (to me) artist. Engel Astrup, the young wife of Nikolai Astrup. I can't recall having heard of her before, and in the guidebook I bought at the museum there are pages up and down about Nikolai, his life and his art, just a few lines about Engel.
I wonder if it is possible to find out more about this woman. Who married the much older Nikolai when she was only a young girl, who gave birth to eight children, who followed her artist husband on a long trip south in Europe and to Algerie (months away from her children to be with the love of her life when he studied for hisart), who was widowed when she was still so young, left with her 8 kids, her small farm and her husband's painting. And the art inside her. The printing on fabric.
Yes, some day I hope to find out more about Engel and her life and art.
