Kjære Henrik Lúnd

Ja nú har jeg altsaa været her

nogle dage og seet det vigtigste

af den gamle og endel af den

nye kúnst i England. Reynold er

jo storartet, han maa sikkert være

den förste impresionist i England. 

Turner er jo ogsaa prægtig, men

oprigtigt talt blev jeg dog lidt

skuffet; thi jeg havde tænkt mig

ham ganske anderledes; Frost

paastod at jeg, særlig i mine sidste

ting (som dú ikke har seet) lignede

Turner i höi grad – jeg glædede mig

derfor meget til at se ham; men

jeg fandt ingen lighed mellem mine

og hans ting. Han har jo en stor-

artet fantasi; men han mangler alli-

gevel det, som Böklin havde i saa

höi grad – denne úr-instinktive fölelse

for det organiske sammenhæng mellem

fantasi og natúr. Jeg skal som

exempel tage to billeder, som 

hvad motivvalg k angaar kan

ligne hinanden. Det er Böklins

"Slúgten", som dú antagelig húsker –

dragen som glider ned ad det sleipe

glatte berg, ned mod afgrúnden. Her

er det ægte patos og aligevel har

han det "geologiske úrsyn" – havde

jeg nær sagt – alting hörer her 

sammen, saa det rent grösser i en

naar man ser det, fo man föler det

som at staa ved randen af en afgrúnd

og kjende den raa gúfs af dampene

fra skabelsestiden. Turner laver ogsaa

nogle pathetiske fjelde med en snodig 

kinesisk drage, som har forvildet sig

op i de skotske turistfjelde og ser úd

úd til at være meget bange for at 

dætte ned. Constabel blir kanske

den bedste af de engelske kúnstnere

naar alt kommer til alt. De nye

malere baade impresionisterne og

Prærafaelitterne synes jeg er kjedelige

Prærafaelitterne er kanske dog de, som

finder den rigtige vei tilslút, de danner

en slags overgang fra impressionisme

til den franske naivisme; men for 

öieblikket er de som sagt kjedelige. 

Nú hvorledes gaar det med <afairerne>

om Michelsen portræitet? jeg skal

selvfölgelig staa til tjeneste med at

skrive en notice til en af bladene

bare dicter mig den hvorledes dú vil

have den. Jeg tör iallefald sige at det

er et godt portræit og at man neppe

har noget bedre i Bergen.

Hvorledes tror ^dú det vil gaa, om 

jeg holder en udstilling i Bergen?

Kunde jeg faa solgt om ikke mere

end et billede og helst den förste dag,

tror jeg ikke Asor Hansen vovede

at faa istand noget komplot mod

mig med avisskriverier. Dú kúnde

vel ikke anbefale mig til en eller

anden af byens honoratiores, saa jeg kunde

faa solgt et billede til en 100. kr. Jeg 

skal sætte lave priser paa de faa salg-

bare billeder jeg har, de usalgbare skal

jeg til gjengjæld sætte saa vidt i pris

at Asor Hansen skal faa hjærteklap

ved tanken paa, at múligens et af 

dem kunde blive solgt. Jeg skal altsaa

have et par af mine "peneste" billeder

i en pris af hundrede kr. og 150 kr. Tror 

dú ikke da, dú kúnde skaffe mig en

kjöber, som kúnde kjöbe et billede förste

dag udstillingen var aabnet helst en af 

byens kjendte mænd; thi ingen lúset avis-

húnd tör gjö naar en af byens matadorer 

kjöber noget, de tör ikke proklamere at

samme störrelse har daarlig smag, de

logrer da heller lidt med halen og la der falde

nogen smaabiter af anerkjendelse. Jeg har 

saa ofte lagt i feide med de bergenske kúnst-

kritikere, at jeg kan vente mig noget af hvert

Ja saa haaber jeg snart at höre fra dig

Din hengivne ven

                                             Nikolai Astrúp

Adr: Whitneys Private Hotel

6, Liverpool Street

King’s Cross, London WC

                                             Glem endelig ikke

                                             at W.C. er det vigtigste

                                             i adressen. Her er

                                             nemlig flere Liverpool-

                                             street i London.

    Dear Henrik Lúnd

Well now I have been here

for a few days and seen the most important

of the old and some of the

new art in England. Reynold is 

magnificent, he must surely be

the first impressionist in England. 

Turner is of course also splendid, but

to be honestt I was nevertheless a bit

disappointed; for I had imagined

him to be quite different; Frost

claimed that I, especially in my latest

things (which you have not seen) greatly

resembled Turner – I consequently looked very

much forward to seeing him; but

I found no resemblance between my

things and his. He has of course a magni-

ficent imagination; yet he nevertheless

lacks what Böklin possessed to such a

great degree – that primal instinctive feeling

for the organic connection between

imagination and nature. I shall take as

an example two pictures, which

as far as motif is k concerned can

resemble one another. It is Böklin’s

"The Gorge", which you probably remember –

the dragon sliding down the slippery

smooth mountain, down into the abyss. There is

real pathos here and yet he

retains the "primal geological gaze" – I

would almost call it – everything harmonises

together, so that one positively shudders

when one sees it, fe one feels as

though one is standing on the brink of an abyss

and can sense the dank gust of vapours

from the dawn of creation. Turner too paints

some pathetic mountains with a peculiar 

Chinese dragon, which has lost its way

up in the Scottish tourist mountains and looks like

as though it is terrified of 

falling down. Constable is possibly

the best of the English artists

when all is said and done. The new

painters both the impressionists and the

Pre-Raphaelites I think are boring[.]

It is possible that the Pre-Raphaelites are nevertheless the ones, who

will find the right way in the end, they form

a kind of transition from Impressionism

to the French Naïve art; but for  

the moment they are as I said boring.

Well how are things going with the <business>

regarding the Michelsen portrait? I will 

of course be of service and 

write a notice in one of the tabloids

just dictate to me how you want it to

be worded. In any case I dare to say

that it is a good portrait and that one can

hardly find anything better in Bergen.

How do ^you think it would go, if

I held an exhibition in Bergen?

If I could sell no more than

one picture and preferably on the first day,

I do not think Asor Hansen would venture

to devise a plot against 

me with newspaper scribbling. You wouldn’t

mind recommending me to one

or another of the city’s dignitaries, so that I could

sell a picture for a sum of about 100 kroner. I

intend to set low prices on the few sell-

able pictures that I have, the ones that are unsellable I

shall on the other hand set a price so low

that Asor Hansen will suffer heart palpitations

when considering the possibility, that one of

them might be sold. I shall in other words

have a couple of my "prettiest" pictures

in a price range of one hundred to 150 kroner. Do 

you think, that you could obtain a buyer

for me, who could purchase a picture on the first

day the exhibition opened preferably by one of

the city’s celebrated men; for no lousy newspaper 

hound would dare to howl when one of the city’s matador’s

buys something, they dare not proclaim that

such a notability had bad taste, instead they

wag their tails a bit and let fall

a few crumbs of recognition. I have 

engaged in feuds so often with the Bergen art

critics, that I can expect just about anything[.]

Well I hope I hear from you soon[.]

Your devoted friend

                                             Nikolai Astrup

Addr: Whitney’s Private Hotel

6, Liverpool Street

King’s Cross, London WC

                                             Make sure not to forget

                                             that W.C. is an essential part

                                             of the address. There

                                             are several Liverpool

                                             streets in London you see.