Letter
8 Pages
Transcription: Tove Kårstad Haugsbø
Transcription
Kjære Hr. Aslaksen!
Jeg veed ikke, hvorledes jeg skal takke
Dem for Deres brev og for pengene og
bestillingen, jeg skùlde have skrevet
til Dem for længe siden, men mit
daarlige bryst har forværret sig nù i höst-
og vinterkùlden, saa at jeg for tiden er
lidet skikket til at skrive et ordentlig
brev. Först maa jeg faa lov at bede
Dem om ikke at blive fornærmet, om
jeg ser mig nödsaget til at sende Deres
penge tilbage; thi jeg har intet af saa
god kùnstnerisk værdi, at jeg vil tilbyde
Dem det – jeg har maattet skille
mig med de sidste rester, jeg havde af
skisser og billeder, da jeg var i pengeknibe
nù i höst – jeg har igjen nogle stùdier,
som jeg nok selv kan være glad i, og som
kan have værdi for mig som kùnstnerisk
seet gode stùdier – men de egner sig ikke
for at hænge paa en væg sammen med
"færdige" billeder – den stùdie, jeg har af et
St. Hansbaal, kan kanske betragtes som
et billede – men den vil jeg De skal
have som en foræring, og den skal blive sendt
Dem, saa snart jeg blir saa frisk, at jeg kan
faa arbeidet en kasse til at sende den i
– jeg bor nemlig paa et afsidesliggende sted,
og det er vanskeligt for mig at faa tag i
alt, som behöves af materialer – jeg kùnde
nok rùlle den omtalte studie sammen og
sende den pr. post, men billeder pleyer lide
saa meget ved saadan forsendelse, at jeg ansaa
det heldigst at faa den sendt i kasse og
opspændt paa ramme. Jeg bor som sagt
saa afsides, at jeg vanskelig kan faa folke-
hjælp til dette arbeide – jeg bor gùdske lov
i mit eget hùs, det er lidet – ikke fùldt
3 m. i hver kant – men det er nù alligevel
mit – det har oprindelig været en sæterhytte
– og saa har jeg gùdske lov en liden kone som
steller for mig – saa jeg har ingen nöd – doktoren
var hos mig for for et par dage siden og gav
mig en sterk medicin, som skùlde fri mig fra
all <tùbercelkim>, sagde han. Jeg har ingenting
brùgt af Deres penge endnù, da jeg har faaet nogen
penge, som jeg skùlde have for et billede i Bergen
– jeg har ùdestaaende for flere andre billeder ogsaa;
og saa er jeg for tiden gjældsfri mand – saa jeg skùl-
de ikke have nogen grùnd til at beklage mig –
og alligevel gaar jeg utaknemlige djævel her og
beklager mig, fordi jeg j ikke fik et stipendiùm
– men nù skal mine kjære slegtninge faa
höre fra mig – jeg skal sende dem skrivelsen
fra stipendiekomiteen – hvori staar at "stipendie
komiteen intet ùfordelagtigt har hört om mit "priv-
ate liv". – Jeg er saa forarget over, at jeg skùlde skrive
baade til Dem, Werenskiold, Krohg og andre om dette
skidt-stipendiet – naar det alligevel ikke angik
mit "private liv". Det er natùrligvis en eller
anden af de ùnge malerne, som har forùndret sig
over, at jeg ikke fik stipendiet igjen – og saa har
de fremsat en hypothese om, at mit private liv
maatte have hindret mig fra at faa stipendiet
igjen – og saa har en anden hört dette og bragt
det videre som den virkelige aarsag – og saaledes
er historien opkommet. – Kjære hr. Aslaksen, jeg
vil gjerne være en selvhjùlpen mand, og jeg har
fölelsen af, at De sendte mig disse penge væsentlig
bare for at hjælpe mig – isaafald maa jeg faa lov
at sende dem tilbage – vil De imidlertid gjerne
have nogle billeder af mig – saa maa jeg bede
Dem give mig lidt tid – jeg skal da, saasnart jeg
blir saahvidt frisk, faa samlet, hvad jeg endnù
har staaende hist og her paa bygden af studier,
og kùnde jeg deriblandt finde en to tre stykker
som jeg med god samvittighed kùnde lade Dem faa
for saa mange penge – saa skal jeg gjöre det – finder
jeg imidlertid, at jeg ikke har ting, som er gode nok,
sender jeg pengene tilbage – skùlde jeg imidlertid se mig
nödsaget til at forgribe mig paa Deres penge
i mellemtiden, skal jeg i allefald sende Dem
nogle studier i pant, indtil jeg holder en
ùdstilling i Kristiania, og De selv kan vælge
ùd, hvad De vil af mine billeder. Sneen er
kommen her nù, – men hvis jeg blir saa frisk
kùnde det jo hænde, jeg kùnde faa malt et
vinterlandskab ogsaa – til Dem – jeg har rigtignok
bare malt et eneste vinterlandskab för – og det
blev indkjöbt til det galleri, som skal opprettes
i Bergen. Men jeg vil i det længste forsöge
ikke at brùge noget av Deres penge, förend jeg
jeg ser, om jeg kan skaffe Dem fùld valùta
for dem. Hvis jeg kan faa udlaant tilstræk-
kelig mange af mine billeder, vil jeg forsöge at
faa istand en udstilling i Christiania i Janùar
eller febrùar, – men jeg kan ikke vente
at mine billed-eiere vil finde sig i at laane
ùd sine billeder saaledes gang paa gang. –
Nù laante jeg mine vigtigste ting ùd til den
ùdstilling, som "gruppe 1" af norske kunstnere
holdt i Kjöbenhavn; – jeg blev indvalgt
som yngste medlem i denne gruppe, hvori
der kùn var to unge kunstnere, og jeg syntes
jeg maatte deltage i udstillingen, naar man gjor-
de saa megen ære paa mig, – men jeg havde
ikke en öres fortjeneste deraf – tvertimod havde
jeg 40 kr. ùdgift for min deltagelse i udstil-
lingen. Nù laante jeg igjen mine billeder ùd
til Bergens ùdstillingen ivaar – saa nù tör
jeg næsten ikke bede mine billedeiere om, at
faa laane billederne ùd oftere – men jeg
blir vel næsten nödt til at gjöre et forsög;
thi hvis jeg skal gjöre mig haab om at faa
Statens stipendiùm til vaaren, maa jeg vel
holde en ùdstilling forinden i Christiania –
Nù veed jeg heller ikke om Statens stipen-
diùm er ledigt til vaaren, saa det er hjælp
i at söge det – thi jeg veed ikke om den,
der nù har det – har havt det i to aar
til vaaren, eller om det er det förste aar, han
har det – isaatilfælde vil jeg aldrig i verden
söge det; – saa vidt jeg veed er det Ødegaard,
som har Statens stipendiùm iaar, og han har
det vistnok for förste gang iaar.
I det jeg haaber, at jeg enten maa finde
nogen arbeider til Dem, eller at jeg maa faa
anledning at male noget til Dem i den
aller nærmeste fremtid – saa maa jeg atter
faa lov at takke Dem paa det hjærteligste for
Deres venlighed mod mig. Det var kjedeligt,
at jeg ikke udstillede i Christiania ivaar
i stedenfor i Bergen – thi jeg gav væk flere
af mine billeder der – billeder som jeg
vilde have havt meget större glæde af
have givet Dem; – ligeledes solgte jeg mange
billeder for halve – ja lige ned til fjerdedelen
af de priser, som jeg paa forhaand syntes, jeg
havde sat lavt nok – og blandt disse var
der sikkerlig billeder, som De vilde have likt,
og som jeg da heller kunde have solgt for
en billig pris til Dem end til hvilketsom-
helst ubekjendt menneske i Bergen.
Ja atter tak! – og ùndskyld, at jeg ikke
for öieblikket har noget andet end den
omtalte St. Hansbaalstùdie, og kanske nog-
le andre studier at sende Dem – men hvis De
ikke faar noget andet end den omtalte
St. Hans stùdie – saa er det fordi jeg ingen
stùdier finder, som er Dem værdige – og isaa-
fald maa jeg faa lov at sende Dem pengene
tilbage.
Deres i taknemlighed
forbùndne
Adr. Myklebùst
Sandal
Söndfjord
Translation
Dear Mr. Aslaksen!
I don’t know, how to thank
You for Your letter and for the money and
the commission, I should have written
to You long ago, but my
poor lungs have worsened in this autumn
and winter cold, so I am not at present
in any condition to write a proper
letter. First of all I must be permitted to ask
You not to be offended, if
I feel obliged to return Your
money; for I have nothing of
adequate artistic value, that I might offer
it to You – I was forced to part with
the last vestiges, that I had of
sketches and pictures, when I was in dire straits
this autumn – what remains are a few studies,
which I am fond of myself, and which
can be valuable to me as studies
having artistic quality – but they are not suitable
to hang on a wall together with
“finished” pictures – the study, that I have of a
Midsummer Eve bonfire, may perhaps be considered
a picture – but this one I want You to
have as a gift, and it will be shipped
to You, as soon as I am well enough,
to construct a crate to send it in
– you see I live in a remote location,
and it is difficult for me to get hold of
everything, that is needed in the form of materials – I could
roll the mentioned study up and
send it via the post, but pictures [normally] suffer
so much from such a shipping method, that I thought
it best to send it in a crate and
stretched on a frame. I live as mentioned
in such a secluded place, that it will be difficult for me to hire
help for this work – I live thank God
in my own house, it is small – not quite
3 m. on each side – but it is nevertheless
mine – it was originally a mountain dairy cabin
–and then thank God I have a little Mrs. who
takes care of me – so I suffer no neglect – the doctor
visited me a a couple of days ago and gave
me a strong medicine, which is meant to cure me of
all [the tuberculin], he claimed. I have not
used any of Your money as yet, since I have received some
money, that was owed to me for a picture in Bergen
– I also have outstanding sums for several other pictures;
and in addition I am a debt-free man at the moment – so I should
not have any reason to complain –
and yet here I am ungrateful devil
complaining, because I I did not receive a grant
– but now my dear relatives will
hear from me – I will send them the letter
from the scholarship committee – where it states that “the scholarship
committee has not heard anything unfavourable about my ‘pri-
vate life’”. – I am so exasperated about having to write
to You, Werenskiold, Krohg and others about this
shitty grant – when it has nothing to do with
my “private life”. It was obviously one or
other of the young painters, who have wondered
why, I did not get the grant once again – and so have
put forth the hypothesis, that my private life
must have prevented me from getting the grant
a second time – and then someone else heard this and passed
it on as the real reason – and that is how
the story originated. – Dear mr. Aslaksen, I
very much wish to be a self-sufficient man, and I have
the feeling, that You sent me this money in essence
only to help me – in which case I must be permitted
to return it – if You on the other hand would like
to have some pictures from me – then I must ask
You to give me some time – I will then, as soon as I
am sufficiently recovered, and [can] gather, what I still
have of studies stored here and there in the village,
and might among them find one two three pieces
that I in good conscience might let You have
for this amount of money – then I shall do it – If
on the other hand, I find that I do not have anything, that is good enough,
I will return the money – should I nevertheless be
forced to raid Your money
in the meantime, I will at least send You
a few studies as security, until I have an
exhibition in Kristiania , and You can choose,
what You wish among my pictures. The snow has
arrived here, – but if I recover enough
perhaps I might also be able to paint a
winter landscape – for You – I have in truth
only painted one single winter landscape previously – and it
was bought up by the gallery, that is being established
in Bergen. But I will try as long as possible
not to use any of Your money, until I
I see whether I can obtain full compensation for You
in exchange for them. If I succeed in borrowing e-
nough of my pictures, I will try to
put together an exhibition in Christiania in January
or February, – but I cannot expect
the owners of my pictures to put up with lending
out their pictures like that over and over again. –
I recently lent my most important things to the
exhibition, which “Group 1” [comprised of] Norwegian artists
held in Copenhagen; – I was selected
as the youngest member of this group, among whom
there were only two young artists, and I felt that
I had to take part in the exhibition, since they be-
stowed so much honour on me, - but I did
not make one öre’s profit from it – on the contrary I
had 40 kr. in expenses for my participation in the exhibi-
tion. I also lent out my pictures
to the Bergen exhibition this spring – so now I dare
not ask the owners of my pictures to
allow me to borrow the pictures once again – but I
will be obliged to make an attempt;
because if I am to have any hope of receiving the
Government grant this spring, I will have to
have an exhibition beforehand in Christiania –
I don’t even know if the Government
grant is available in the spring, so there is an advantage
in applying for it – because I don’t know if whoever,
has it now – will have had it for two years
in the spring, or whether it is the first year, he
has it – if that were the case I would never ever
apply for it; – as far as I know it is Ødegaard,
who has the Government grant this year, and he
evidently has it for the first time this year.
In the hope, that I either can find
some works for You, or that I am
able to paint something for You in the
very near future – I must again
be permitted to thank You most heartily for
Your kindness towards me. It is a shame,
that I did not exhibit in Christiania this spring
instead of in Bergen – because I gave away several
of my pictures there – pictures that I
would have had much more pleasure in
giving to You; – I likewise sold many
pictures for half – even down to a quarter
of the prices, that I thought in advance, I
had set low enough – and among these
were very good pictures, that You would have liked,
and which I might have sold at
a cheap price to You rather than to any
random stranger in Bergen.
Well thanks again! – and forgive me, for not
having anything more at present than the
mentioned Midsummer Eve study, and perhaps some
other studies to send You –but if You
do not receive anything more than the mentioned
Midsummer Eve study – it is because I have not
found studies, that are worthy of You – and in that
case I must be permitted to return Your money.
Your grateful and
obliged
Adr. Myklebùst
Sandal
Söndfjord