Provenience of a Monument: Serial Rediscovery in the Image History of Urnes Stave Church

A new perspective on the transformation of Urnes Stave Church into an international heritage icon emerges from the rediscovery of previously overlooked images by Thomas Fearnley and Mathias Wilhelm Eckhoff, predating Johan Christian Dahl's 1837 documentation. This micro-historical reconstruction reveals the movements of artists around the Lusterfjord in 1826, challenging the dominant narrative that credits Dahl alone with the monument's rediscovery. By presenting forgotten impressions of Urnes as a functioning local village church, the study sheds light on the collective contributions to its cultural significance and offers a nuanced understanding of its evolution into a symbol of Norwegian heritage.

Walkley, N. (2025). Provenience of a Monument: Serial Rediscovery in the Image History of Urnes Stave Church. Kunst Og Kultur, 108(3-4), 99–114. https://doi.org/10.18261/kk.108.3-4.3