Odd Nerdrum
PainterKnown for:
Rembrandt-inspired figurative painting; mythological and dystopian scenes with Old Master technique
Odd Nerdrum is a Norwegian figurative painter born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1944 to Norwegian Resistance fighter parents. He trained at the Art Academy of Oslo and briefly studied with conceptual artist Joseph Beuys in Dusseldorf, but devoted his career to mastering the oil painting methods of Rembrandt and Caravaggio. His paintings depict mythological and dystopian scenes with extraordinary technical skill in tenebrism and flesh rendering. A controversial figure in Norway for his anti-modernist stance, he has a global following of students and acolytes.
Gear & Materials(4)
Connection note
Uses Sennelier titanium white and Chinese vermilion as documented palette colors.
Sennelier has manufactured artists' oil colours in Paris since 1887, supplying Cézanne, Monet, Picasso, and subsequent generations from its shop on the Quai Voltaire across from the Louvre. Its Extra-Fine range uses traditional pigments ground in safflower oil for maximum color purity and lightfastness.
Old Holland
Connection note
Uses Old Holland brilliant yellow, mars yellow (also pre-mixed with white for faster flesh painting), deep ochre, and mars black. Core palette brand for earth tones and darks.
Old Holland has manufactured artists' oil colours in the Netherlands since 1664, making it the oldest surviving oil paint manufacturer. Its Classic range uses pure pigments at maximum concentration ground on triple-roll mills, producing paints with extremely high tinting strength favored by painters working in the Old Master tradition.
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Last updated March 18, 2026