Lars Osa

Lars Osa
Lars Osa in 1929
Born	(1860-08-13)13 August 1860 Ulvik, Norway
Died	9 February 1958(1958-02-09) (aged 97)
Nationality	Norwegian
Occupation	Painter Fiddler
Children	Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa

Lars Osa (13 August 1860 – 9 February 1958) was a Norwegian artist. He also worked with church decoration and restoration and was a noted fiddle player.

Lars Andersen was born in the village of Ulvik in Ulvik municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. When Lars Osa was five years old, the family moved from the (larger) village of Ulvik into the (very small) village of Osa, located about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) away, at the end of the Osafjorden, an arm of the Hardangerfjord. He grew up in an environment characterized by a living folk tradition. He visited Knud Bergslien in Eidfjord and received his first art lessons from him. That same year he went to Christiania and was a pupil at Tegneskolen. In 1882 he was admitted as a student at the Art Academy in Copenhagen. He studied there until 1885, and continued as a student under the Danish painters Laurits Tuxen (1853–1927) and Peder Severin Krøyer until 1886. He used a travel scholarship for trips to Paris during the autumn and winter of 1897 and 1898.

Since so much of what Osa had studied underlined the continuity between medieval and folk art decorations, it was natural for him to examine Norwegian frescoes. He did research in several Norwegian medieval churches: Kinsarvik Church, Old Tingelstad Church, Tingvoll Church, and Slidre Church. Among his notable church decorations are Ulvik Church, which he decorated with rose painting in 1923, and Heddal Stave Church, where in 1908 Lars Osa painted The Resurrection. Additional work of note would include: Haram Church and Granvin Church.