Background
August Gerhard Schneider was born in Flekkefjord in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.
August Gerhard Schneider was born in Flekkefjord in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.
He was a student at J.F. Eckersberg’s Art School from 1867 to 1968, studied in Copenhagen as a pupil of Frederik Vermehren from 1868 to 1870, and from 1870 until his death at the Academy in Antwerp.
Schneider was a student at the Stavanger Latin School starting in 1860. His family"s career choice was for he to began to study medicine at the University of Christiania, but early in the study period, he spent more time on art than on the medical program Schneider"s illustrations and informative articles made him a sought-after contributor to magazines, especially Illustreret Nyhedsblad, Skilling-Magazin, Norsk Folkeblad, Almuevennen and Danish publication, Illustreret Tidende.
From 1863 he was permanent illustrator in the witty magazine Vikingen.
His drawings were printed after xylography, and had often a political focus. Schneider also was a habile portrait painter.
Schneider made several trips to the valley of Setesdal and was touched by cultural traditions in the valley. His main contribution to art was his drawings for P. Chr.
Asbjørnsen"s Norske Huldre-Eventyr og Folkesagn (1879), and later editions.
His illustrations for fairy tales and legends were developed in discussions with the tale collector and publisher Asbjørnsen himself, and built upon studies of peasants, house constructions and his own collection of oral tales in Setesdal. He committed suicide in Antwerp at 31 years of age.