Brev
4 sider
Transkripsjon: Tor Martin Leknes
Oversettelse: Francesca Nichols
Transkripsjon
Aalhús 25de juni 08
Opp ned tekst øverst:
Kjære Lúnd! Dette brev havde jeg sendt dig fór over to maaneder
siden og fik det nylig tilbagesendt – det havde været bekjendt
gjort, men adresaten var ikke fúnden – jeg havde addresseret det
"Solstrand – Vos". Jeg sender det nú for at dú kan se, at jeg gjerne
vilde have vedligeholdt korre-
spondencen. Din hengivne ven
Kjære Lúnd og frúe
Mange tak for Eders venlige brev. Det
glæder mig at höre at I ligger paa Sol-
strand og nyter sommeren – dú maler
vel flittig som sedvanligt. Det gaar daar-
ligt med min maling. Det er gaaet
nú som sidst, jeg holdt udstilling, at
jeg föler mig rent "úbegavet", naar jeg kom-
mer hjem igjen og skal begynde at male
paa nyt; baade haanden og öiet er úsikkre
– det er til at blive i daarligt húmör
over – ikke for det – jeg tror man kan have
godt af at komme lidt ud af concep-
terne en gang i mellem. – I maa være
saa venlig at hilse Hr. Schetelich med frúe og
söster fra mig – det skulde være meget mor-
somt at træffes med dere alle i London,
men jeg kan nok være temmelig sikker paa ikke
at faa Henrichsens legat igjen i aar; thi det er
afgjort for længe siden – hvem der har faaet
det, veed ikke jeg – mig er det i allefald
ikke; thi da havde jeg længst faaet under-
retning derom. Forresten har de únge
kúnstnere i Kristiania sörget for at
sætte mig i ondt rygte – historien om
at jeg skúlde have ligget paa Vasenden ho-
tel og drúkket op stipendiet – skriver sig fra
Laúreng, thi han havde fortalt denne
historie allerede i fjor höst – længe förend jeg
havde faaet stipendiet udbetalt – men han
troede formodentlig, at jeg allerede havde faaet
det udbetalt den gang – og han havde tilföiet
at han skulde nok vide at fortælle dette til
de, som havde med stipendiet at gjöre.
Mit haab havde nú været at faa reise en túr til
det "forjættede" Italien, saa snart stipendiet med de
1800. kr. blev mig meddelt, men isaafald maatte
jeg havt underretning derom medens jeg var i Bergen
eller senest nú i júni. Jeg skúlde finde mig i
at jeg nú ikke fik stipendiet igjen, hvis dú, Frost,
eller Wik (Robert) havde faaet det, men det er
natúrligvis en af disse sladderagtige Kristiania-
malerne, som har faaet det.
I gaarnat var her St. Hansbaal rúndt fjeldene,
menneskerne myldrede sorte op over fjeldsiderne,
de hvide skjorteærmer ringed sig som lyse prikker og
gnister om blússene. Jeg kúnde ikke male denne
úrstemning, som er over St. Hansnatten, för, og jeg kan
det endnú mindre nú, siden jeg blev gift – den skin-
syge gústne lúe, som ikke lyser i sommernatten,
romantikken og mystikken, alt kjendte jeg igjen
fra de gamle stemninger – de angaar mig bare ikke selv
saa personligt nú som för, da jeg ikke fik fred for
dem, för jeg hadde forsögt at male det hele.
Men saa er det alligevel únderligt at föle
et gjenskin af sine förste Jonsokbaal; og den osen
osende fortærende indebrændte brúnst – fra de
únge aar – kan man endnú kjende i blodet. –
Jeg skúlde önske jeg kúnde havt anledning
til at være sammen med dig en tid, jeg föler at
jeg har vanskeligt for at beherske de rent ma-
leriske midler – det maleriske sprog, det jeg vil
gjöre blir let for litherært – jeg búrde kanske været
forfatter, men dertil manglede jeg igjen sprogöre
og kúltur nok. Feilen hos mig som hos andre
er, at man ikke stoler blindt paa sit instinkt,
thi selv om man en og anden gang giver sig fanden
i vold og rigtig slipper sig lös, – saa blir resúltatet
altformeget mærket af opositionstrangen, det
er den som raader ikke instinktet. Men det skúlde
være morsomt at gjöre, hvad vi engang talte om, –
nemlig at reise til Sydhavsöerne eller et andet
úkultiveret sted og ligge i ro forat faa fölge
sine instinkter, úden at maatte brúge det tvúng-
ne opositions-system for at lösrive sig – thi da
sidder man faktisk bare og tænker paa alt det man
synes er daarligt i kúnst, – selv om man holder det
op for sig selv som det stik modsatte af det, man vil.
At have tingen for sig som kontrast er næsten lige
saa galt, som at have tingen for sig som forbillede.
Formegen antipathi er lige saa megen búndethed
som formegen sympathi. Ja úndskyld mig alt dette
slúdder kjære ven. Dú maa være saa snild at skrive
nogle ord til mig ved tid og leilighed. Hils din kone
og de andre fra Eders Astrup. Min kone beder mig hilse din
med tak for hilsenen. D.S.
Oversettelse
Aalhús 25th June 08
Upside down text at top:
Dear Lúnd! I had sent this letter to you over two months
ago and received it in return recently – it had been
announced, but the addressee was not found – I had addressed it to
"Solstrand – Vos". I send it now so that you can see, that I wished
to keep up our corres-
pondence. Your devoted friend
Dear Lúnd and Mrs.
Many thanks for Your kind letter. It
pleases me to hear that You are staying at Sol-
strand and enjoying the summer – you are most likely
painting diligently as usual. My painting-
ing is going poorly. The same thing is
happening now as the last time that I had an exhibition,
I feel as though I absolutely "lack talent", when I re-
turn home and shall begin to paint
again; both my hand and my eye are unsure
– it is enough to put one in a bad
humour – it’s not that – I believe that one can
benefit from losing one’s bearings
every now and then. – Please be so
so kind as to greet Mr. Schetelich and his wife and
sister from me – it would be quite fun
to meet all of you in London,
but I can be quite sure not
to receive the Henrichsen endowment again this year; for it has
long since been decided – I do not know,
who has received it – it is not I any-
way; for in that case I would have been in-
formed of it long ago. By the way the young
painters in Kristiania [Oslo] have made sure to
spread nasty rumours about me – the story about
how I supposedly stayed at Vasenden ho-
tel and drank up the stipend – comes from
Laúreng, for he had already fabricated this
story last fall – long before I
had been paid out the stipend – but he
presumably believed that I had already
received the money by that time – and he had added
that he had every intention of relating this to
the individuals, who were involved with the stipend.
My hope had now been to make a trip to
the "promised [land]" Italy, as soon as the stipend consisting of
1800. kroner was allocated to me, but in that case
I would have had to receive notice while I was [still] in Bergen
or at the latest now in June. I would be able to accept the fact
that I did not receive the stipend again, if you, Frost,
or Wik (Robert) had gotten it, but it is
naturally one of those tattletale Kristiania
painters who has received it.
Last night there were Midsummer bonfires in the mountains,
the people teemed in black across the mountain slopes,
their white shirt sleeves in rings like light dots and
sparks encircling the blazing fires. I could not paint this
primal atmosphere that suffuses Midsummer night, before, and I can
even less so now, since I married – that jeal-
ous blaze, that does not light up in the summer night,
the romantic and mystical atmosphere, I felt everything again
of the old moods – it just does not affect me
as personally now as before, when I could not free myself
from them, before I had attempted to paint it all.
And yet it is nonetheless strange to feel
the glow from one’s first Midsummer bonfires, and the steam
steamy consuming smouldering eroticism – of the
early years – one can still feel it in the blood. –
I wish that I could have the opportunity
to spend some time with you, I feel that
I am struggling to master the purely paint-
erly techniques – the painterly language, what I wish
to do often becomes too literary – perhaps I should have been
a writer, but for that I lacked an ear for language
and sufficient culture. The problem with me as with others
is that one does not rely blindly on one’s instinct,
for even when one now and again adopts a devil-may-care attitude
and really throws all caution to the wind, – the result will
be excessively marked by a conflicting compulsion, that
is what controls us, not instinct. But it would
be amusing to do, what we once spoke of, –
that is, to travel to the South Sea islands or some other
uncultivated place and live tranquilly in order to follow
our instincts, without having to make use of the compul-
sive conflicting system in order to liberate oneself – because then
one in fact only sits there focusing on everything that one
thinks is bad in art, – even if one has
an image of it as the opposite of what one wishes.
To imagine the thing as contrast is almost as
bad as to imagine the thing as an ideal.
Excessive antipathy is just as constraining
as excessive sympathy. Well forgive me all this
gibberish dear friend. Please be so kind as to write
a few words to me when time and opportunity permit. Greetings to your wife
and the others from Your Astrup. My wife asks me to say hello to yours
thanking [her] for the greeting. D.S.