Axel Ender

Axel Ender (1872-1920) is one of the painters that best represent the Norwegian National Romantic Movement. He studied at the Academy of fine Arts (Tegneskolen) in Oslo, then named Kristiania, and continued his education in Stockholm between the years 1872-74. In Sweden he connected with the Swedish National Romantic and en plein air inspired painters. In Stockholm he also came under the protection of King Karl XV.
Ender preferred the Norwegian nature and the Norwegian folk tales that became an important part of the nationalistic movement in Norway during the last part of the 20th century when the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian Union became an important issue. The motifs that Ender earned great success with were those that showed the history of Norway as a country in its own right. Ender is represented in Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo and his monumental statue of Torstenskiold, the Norwegian war general, adorns Rådhusplatsen in the Norwegian capital.