Julius Middelthun
Illustration — Portrait of Julius Middelthun by Cecilie Dahl (1928) • Illustration — Bust of Johan Sebastian Welhaven by Julius Middelthun (1867) Julius Olavus Middelthun (3 July 1820 – 5 May 1886) was a Norwegian sculptor and educator. He is most associated with his busts and statues.
Also recorded as Julius Olavus Middelthun
Julius Middelthun

Cecilie Dahl · Oslo Museum: image no. OB.00648 (Byhistorisk samling), via oslobilder.no. · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1820 · Kongsberg.
- Died
- 1886 · Christiania.
- Nationality
- Norway
- Occupation
- sculptor
- Known for
- Anton Martin Schweigaard
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Illustration — Portrait of Julius Middelthun by Cecilie Dahl (1928) • Illustration — Bust of Johan Sebastian Welhaven by Julius Middelthun (1867) Julius Olavus Middelthun (3 July 1820 – 5 May 1886) was a Norwegian sculptor and educator. He is most associated with his busts and statues.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q765744 · wikipedia · Julius Middelthun
In this article
Biography
Biography
Louis Moe and Anders Svor are recorded as having studied under Julius Middelthun. Places of work recorded in the authority are Oslo. Employment is recorded with Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry. Works named in the authority record are Anton Martin Schweigaard. Work by Julius Middelthun is recorded in the collections of National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.
Middelthun was born at Kongsberg in Buskerud, Norway. He was the son of Georg Middelthun (1779–1831) and Maren Margrethe Jørgensen (1785–1829). His father was employed at the Royal Norwegian Mint in Kongsberg. As a young man, he trained as a goldsmith before moving to Copenhagen to study with Herman Wilhelm Bissen. His ten years there were followed by eight years in Rome (1851–1856), after which he returned to Norway. From 1869 until his death in 1886, Middlethun taught at the Royal Drawing School in Christiania (Tegneskolen i Kristiania), now the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Oslo. Among his students were Erik Werenskiold (1883), Louis Moe, Theodor Kittelsen (1874), and Edvard Munch (1881), who painted the famous painting The Scream.
Selected works
Selected works
• Bust of Henrik Wergeland, University Library, Oslo (1861) • Bust of Johan Sebastian Welhaven, University Library, Oslo (1861) • Bust of Otto Thott Fritzner, Trondheim Cathedral School (1862) • Bust of Ole Jacob Broch, National Gallery of Norway (1869) • Bust of Jakob Aall, National Gallery of Norway (1871) • Bronze bust of Halfdan Kjerulf, Halfdan Kjerulfs plass, Oslo (1874) • Statue of Anton Martin Schweigaard, University Square, Oslo (1883)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1820
Julius Middelthun was born on 1 January 1820.
1886
Julius Middelthun died on 1 January 1886.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Kongsberg.
Birth place
Christiania.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Julius Middelthun”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q765744: Julius Middelthun
General reference · Wikidata
References
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reference work
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General reference
Further particulars
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Formation and teaching. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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