Letter
6 Pages
Transcription: Tor Martin Leknes
Translation: Francesca Nichols
Transcription
Kjære ven!
Kùn et par ord, medens posten er
ùdenfor. Tak for dit brev og "pùrrin-
gen", – ja jeg bùrde reist og seet "vest-
landsùdstillingen", – men her har jeg
ogsaa havt "pùrring" og "rykking" for
gjæld – og er ikke frisk; – jeg maatte
laane halvtredje hùndred kroner hos Fond
igaar for at klare en af de mest paa-
trængende kreditorer, – saa hvis dù kunde
faa solgt saa meget af træsnit for mig,
og faa sendt Fond, – var dù rigtig snild.
Det piner mig at maatte laane mere hos
Fond, da jeg skylder ham et par hùndred-
og vel det – för. Zakris vil ogsaa reise, hvis
han ikke faar 200 kr. om 14 dage (han
skal snart have 1000 kr. nù hos mig), – iaar
har Engel prùttet ham lige ned i 200 kr. ;
men saa skal vi betale skat og sykekasse (ca. 60 kr)
Nù er det ikke saa godt at reise, da
Engel "gaar til ventings" hver dag, – (hùn
venter sig 2den paaskedag, men 14 dage
för eller senere kan jo variere med tiden.
Hùn er svært ængstelig dennegang, fordi
hùn ikke er frisk paa forhaand, –
plages af frygtelig hovne fötter og aare-
knùter og drikker natron oplöst i vand
eller melk hele dagen for at slippe
"bryst svi-ing", som hùn plages haardt
af, – maven hendes er snart lige saa
daarlig som min, – (jeg holder forresten min
i age ved hyppig faste – og spiser aldrig
mere end en gang pr. dögn – og ofte med et
par dögns mellemrùm, – og da er tilværelsen
taalelig for mavens vedkommende). –––
Jeg holder "tegneskole" for mig selv for tiden,
det vil sige jeg över mig i at se med "öie-
maal" – de harmoniske dimensioner og for-
hold i linjer flader og former, – det er ikke let.
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Det er noget jeg aldrig har lært fra först af,
og som jeg desværre aldrig har troet var nöd-
vendigt i kùnst, – men jeg har opdaget – lidt
for sent, – at man i kùnst – som i alt andet
andet – maa "kùnne" sit "haandværk". Disse
træsnit og andet skitt, som jeg har maattet
arbeide med i senere tid, har lagt for
megen beslag paa min tid, – saa jeg har for-
sömt min "aandelige habitùs". –––
Jeg var jo inde paa tingene allerede for 10–15
aar siden, men lagde det paa hylden igjen.
Ja"livet er kort og kùnsten lang", som
Long-Fellow saa sandt har sagt. –––
Nù har jeg malet om-igjen "gaasa" for 3de gang
til Mons Breidvik, og nù faar han den bedste
ùdgave af det; – jeg gaar nemlig ud fra, at
dù vil, jeg skal sende eller tage med mig
det, dù saa her, og som jeg lovede at lade
dig sælge sammen med "stillebenet" og det lille
billede af hùsene (seet ùdenfra bakken i vest for
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"Engelsplanen" og stenbordet) – ikke det af
lignende motiv seet længere ùde fra (i nærheden
af Fluge), – altsaa ikke dette sidste, som dù
nù antagelig mener, – da dù taler om, at der
var nogle börn paa det, – (dette er nærmest en
stùdie bare, og som dù husker, – jeg sagde, – maa
jeg have vaaren igjen, förend det kan gjöres
noget ùd af.). Det andet derimod (med det
(* röde hùstag, – som blev malet for at pröve, hvor-
dan teglstenstag vilde tage sig du – straks efter
at vi havde bygget i 1913) – det har jeg arbeidet
meget paa, ùden at jeg veed, om det er bleven
noget bedre, – kompositionen er i allefald
fastere, – men alt er jo saa forandret her –
siden den gang, at det var vanskeligt i höst
at stùdere motivet; – (der er jo en hel liden skog-
paa "Engelsplanen" ved stenbordet – nù – vokst til.)
Jeg skriver vist ùforstaaeligt – da jeg er svært
nervös for tiden, (har været "afholdsmand" i
snart 2 mndr.). – Ja, tör jeg plage dig
med en ting, – men det maatte være
nogenlùnde straks: – Dù veed, jeg har
altid havt en fl. Champagne til Engel
ùnder slige "omstændigheder" og skùlde
ogsaa havt det denne gang; – kùnde dù
sende en slig fl. pr. post, – var dù snild;
kan dù pakke den ind mellem to flade
fiskepùddinger (ikke hermetiske), saa havde
hùn, barsel-mat med det samme, – (her
er saa koldt, at fiskepuddinger holder sig
1 maaned). Her er sol og bidendende kold
östenvind hver dag nù, siden forrige helg;
det var vel "vestlandsudstillingens sidste dag?
Lige til den dag, har her raset et frygteligt
ùveir, – men jeg havde gjerne reist – ind til
Bergen for 8 dage siden, om jeg havde vidst,
hvor længe udstillingen varede. Skal den
nù til Throndhjem först og saa til Stavanger?
Eller omvendt? Svar, er dù snild!
Har dù nogen "kritikker" fra udstillingen? Jeg
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har kùn seet Korsvolds i B.T. – Har hört at
"Gùla Tidend" skal have havt en lang omtale
af min ùværdige person. Kan dù vedlægge
Champis-pùdding-pakken en eller 2 trekant-
filer, (den forövrigt ùdmærkede sag, som dù
skaffede Zakris i höst er lidt for "myg" saa
den maa ofte files (og en fil slides næsten ud hver gang). Jeg fyrer med raa veed
i attelieret i mangel af stenkùl, og da gaar her
over 2 fùlde sækker veed pr. dögn, (jeg ligger
her om natten ogsaa nù); – til næste aar maa jeg
nok faa "tættet" rùmmet, – varmen er borte paa 10
minùtter, naar det er sliknet i ovnen. – Hils
Kari, – hùn beder mig tegne mönster, – det er
et vanskeligt arbeide, naar man skal gjöre
det godt, – jeg har mange ideer paa lager, men
naar det gjælder billedvæv, – mener jeg, at kun
det bedste er godt nok, og det kræver arbeide –
og stùdiùm. Jeg har stùderet den slags i 30 aar, ùden
at jeg endnù dùer til det arbeide. – Ja, saa reiser
jeg antagelig naar "begivenheden" er over her. Bedste
hilsen til Kari og Dere alle! Engel beder hilse
Kari og takker for brev (gjennem Karen). Hils frk.
Translation
Dear friend!
Just a few words, while the postman is
outside. Thank you for your letter and “remind-
er”, – yes I should have gone to see the “West
Norway exhibition”, – but here I have
also received “reminders” and “demands” pertaining to
debts – and am not well; – I was forced to
borrow two hundred and fifty kroner from Fond
yesterday in order to take care of one of the most in-
trusive creditors, – so if you could
sell as many of the woodcuts [as possible] for me,
and have [the money] sent to Fond, – it would be very kind of you.
It pains me to have to borrow more from
Fond, as I owe him a couple of hundred
and more – from before . Zakris also wants to leave, if
he does not get 200 kr. in a fortnight (he
will soon have 1000 kroner in back pay from me now), – this
year Engel has haggled him down to 200 kr. ;
but then we have to pay taxes and sickness insurance (approx. 60 kr.)
Now is not a good time to travel, since
Engel “is expecting” any day, – (her
due date is the 2nd day of Easter, but it
can vary by a fortnight before or after.
She is very anxious this time, because
she is not well to begin with, –
is plagued by terribly swollen feet and varicose
veins and is drinking baking soda dissolved in water
or milk all day long in order to avoid
“stinging breasts”, which she suffers greatly
from, – her stomach is nearly as
bad as mine, – (incidentally I keep mine
at bay through frequent fasting – and never eat
more than once a day – and often with a
couple of days in between, – and then existence is
tolerable as far as the stomach is concerned). –––
I have been giving myself “drawing lessons” lately,
that is to say I practice seeing “by
eye” – harmonious dimensions and the relation-
ship between lines surfaces and shapes, – it is not easy.
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It is something I have never learned from the beginning,
and which I unfortunately have never believed was neces-
sary in art, but I have discovered – a little
too late, – that in art – as in all other
things – one must “know” one’s “craft”. These
woodcuts and other shite, that I have had
to work with lately, have taken up too
much of my time, – so that I have neg-
lected my “spiritual state”. –––
I was into these things already 10–15
years ago, but then put them aside again.
Well “life is short and art is long”, as
Longfellow so aptly put it. –––
I have now painted “the goose” over again for the 3rd time
for Mons Breidvik, and now he will get the best
version of it; – I’m assuming, that
you want me to send or bring with me
the one, that you saw here, and which I promised to let
you sell together with “the still life” and the little
picture of the buildings (seen from the hill to the west of
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“Engel’s plane” and stone table) – not the one of
a similar motif seen from a further distance (close
to Fluge), – in other words not this last one, which you
presumably intend now, – when you mention, that there
were some children in it, – (this is practically
only a study, and as you remember, – I said, – I needed
to have the remainder of the spring, in order to make
something out of it). The other one however (with the
(* red rooftop, – which was painted to test how
the tiled roof would appear – immediately after
we had built [the house] in 1913) – this one I have worked
a lot on, although I don’t know, whether it has
improved any, – the composition is at least
more consolidated, – but everything has become so changed here –
since that time, that it was difficult this autumn
to study the motif; – (a whole little grove
by the stone table in “Engel’s plane” has – now – established itself.)
I am doubtlessly writing unintelligibly – as I am very
anxious at the moment, (have been “a teetotaller” for
nearly 2 months). – Well, dare I bother you
with something, – but it would have to be
relatively quickly: – You know, that I have
always had a bottle of Champagne for Engel
during such “circumstances” and would
also like to have one this time; – if you could
send a bottle of such via the post, – please;
if you could package it in between two flat
portions of fish pudding (not canned), then
she would have nourishment for the postpartum period as well, – (here
it is so cold, that fish puddings keep for
1 month). Here there is sun and a chilling
easterly wind every day now, since last weekend;
that was the “West Norway exhibition’s last day wasn’t it?
Right up until today, a terrible storm has
raged, – but I would have liked to come – to
Bergen 8 days ago, if I had known,
how long the exhibition lasted. Will it
now travel to Throndhjem first and then to Stavanger?
Or the reverse? Reply, please!
Do you have any “reviews” of the exhibition? I
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have only seen Korsvold’s in B.T. – Have heard that
“Gùla Tidend” had a long article
about my disreputable person. Can you include in the
Bubbly-pudding-package one or 2 triangle
files, (the otherwise excellent saw, that you
obtained for Zakris this autumn is a little too “soft” so that
it has to be sharpened often (and a file is nearly worn down each time). I burn green wood
in the study for lack of coal, and thus
over 2 full sacks of wood are used up per day, (I spend
the night here as well now); – next year I will
have to have the room “sealed”, – the heat disappears in 10
minutes, when the fire is extinguished in the stove. – Say hello to
Kari, – she asks me to draw a pattern, – it is
a difficult job, if one is to do
it well, – I have many ideas in mind, but
when it comes to weaving, – I feel, that only
the best is good enough, and that requires work –
and study. I have studied this for 30 years, and
still am not good enough when it comes to that craft. – Well, I will probably
depart when “the event” here is over. Best
wishes to Kari and all of You! Engel asks to say hello to
Kari and thank her for the letter (via Karen). Greetings to Miss