Letter
3 Pages
Transcription: Tor Martin Leknes
Translation: Francesca Nichols
Transcription
Tak for Deres venlige brev og for
Deres venlige sending af Jùles Wernes værker, –
jeg har faaet 2 hefter. – Det er altfor
elskværdig af Dem. Tusend tak!
Angaaende soleibilledet, – saa har jeg fartet
rùndt hele bygden for at finde en rigtig
vakker soleiemyr – eller et sted, hvor der
var mange soleier samlet; – mit gamle
soleie-motiv med det gamle "tun" i bag-
grùnden er rent ödelagt af opdyrkning, –
myren er veikt og törlagt, og da forsvinder
de store masser af soleier; – – thi disse kræver
at jorden er baade ùsedvanlig "fed" og usedvan-
lig "vandsyg"; – man fandt dem derfor för i
gule masser nedenfor gamle "tun", hvor alt
gjödselvandet fra fjösene randt ned i myren.
Nù har jeg nok fùndet nok af soleier iaar
ogsaa, – men det er vanskeligere at finde en
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god baggrùnd og mellemgrùnd – og jeg liker ikke
at tage at tage forgrùnden fra et sted og baggrùnden
fra et andet sted, – jeg maa se det sammen
for at se, hvor "varmt" eller "koldt", det skal staa
mod hinanden – nù begynder soleierne at fare, –
men jeg har i arbeide 4 billeder med soleier,
for at De kan have noget vælge i, og jeg gaar
kanske igang med et femte, som jeg har seet paa;
jeg plantet hjem soleier paa min gaard for at
kùnne have dem mod den baggrùnd, jeg önsker,
og har havt disse planter liggen i jord for at
"sinke" dem, – de er endnù ikke helt ùdsprùngne.
Men skùlde det nù vise sig vanskelig,
trods alt dette, at faa et tilfredsstillende
billede istand, – saa har jeg flere smaa skisser
som De kan se og mùligens vælge ùd noget
til et andet aar; – naar jeg paa forhaand vid-
ste, hvorledes De likte motivet forövrigt, var
det lettere at bestemme sig – nù har jeg lige-
som havt formeget at vælge imellem, trods
tidens fattigdom paa soleier. En agronom
miströstede mig med at "soleirnes tid forhaabentlig
snart var forbi for altid, de var ensbetydende med vanstel". Med
de bedste hilsener er jeg Deres forbùndne
Translation
Thank You for Your kind letter and for
Your generous sending of Jùles Werne’s works, –
I have received 2 booklets. – It is much
too kind of You. Thank you very much!
As for the marigold picture, – I have wandered
around the whole village to find a truly
beautiful marigold marsh – or a spot, where there
were many marigolds gathered; – my old
marigold motif with the old "farmstead" in the
background is totally destroyed by cultivation, –
the marsh is thin and drained, and then the large
masses of marigolds disappear; – – for they demand
that the soil is both exceptionally "rich" and has
excessive "seepage"; – that is why one found them in
masses of yellow below old "farmsteads", where all
the manure from the cowsheds ran down into the marsh.
Now I have found enough marigolds this year
as well, – but it is difficult to find a
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good background and middle ground – and I do not like
to take to take the foreground from one place and the background
from another place, – I must visualise it together
in order to determine, how "warm" or "cold" they should be
in relation to each other – now the marigolds are beginning to disappear, –
but I have 4 pictures of marigolds in progress,
so that You can have something to choose between, and I will
perhaps begin a fifth, which I have observed;
I transplanted marigolds on my farm in order to
be able to have them against a background of my liking,
and have had these plants lying in the earth so that
they can take “root”, – they have not sprung up quite yet.
But if it turns out to be difficult,
despite all this, to manage to create a
satisfactory picture, – I have several small sketches
that You can have a look at and choose something from
for another year; – If I knew in advance,
how You would prefer the rest of the motif, it
would be easier to decide – this time I have in a
way had too much to choose between, despite
the present paucity of marigolds. An agronomist
discouraged me by saying that "hopefully the era of marigolds will
soon be over forever, they were synonymous with neglect". With
best wishes I am Yours sincerely