Christian Meyer Ross

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on June 17, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation. Please note that specialized terms, historical references, and nuanced content may benefit from expert review.

Christian Meyer Ross (1843–1904) was a Norwegian painter, born in Flekkefjord and raised in Bergen, where he graduated from the Latin School in 1862. By then, he had, among other things, seen and heard Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson give a speech—an experience that made a strong impression on the young boy.

Ross went on to study painting in Christiania and later in Copenhagen, where he became well acquainted with the eleven-years-older Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who would become a close and dear friend—first in Munich and later in Rome. Ross painted a large portrait of Bjørnson, which now hangs at Aulestad. He later traveled to Munich, where he (along with Eilif Peterssen) was a supportive colleague to Harriet Backer. This was followed by a stay in Paris, and finally Rome, where Ross settled in 1879.

Christian Meyer Ross was a remarkably cultivated man with a keen interest in history, often drawing inspiration from the Rococo and Empire periods. He became known and sought after as a fashionable portraitist, enamored with aristocratic manners and the rustle of silk gowns. His refined painterly treatment of society ladies’ silk dresses earned him the nickname 'Ross silk'—at least according to Jens Thiis in his 1904 book Norske malere og billedhuggere. Ross also painted several portraits that the critical Thiis described as 'saccharine.' Nevertheless, he emphasized that the unmarried Ross was a charming individual, full of warmth and humor.

In Rome, Ross served for many years as the de facto chairman of the Scandinavian Association for Artists and Scholars. He was highly popular and a central figure within the Scandinavian artist colony, as well as among other artists. He readily took on the responsibility of organizing social gatherings, played the piano, and entertained with his linguistic talents. During carnival season, Ross would often dress up—occasionally in a ballerina costume—and dance for the guests, despite his large belly and full beard.

As previously mentioned, Christian Meyer Ross was one of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s dearest friends and most loyal companions. In a letter from 1874 addressed to his 'Dear, dear friend,' Bjørnson expresses this fraternal bond through an intimate and comradely tone. He urges Ross to paint a picture of the dancing Lucretia Borgia for him: 'You’ll do it, won’t you! [...] And yet they don’t do it as finely as you can, you lazybones, when you really make an effort [...] You swine, ...'

The Norwegian poet was thus able to closely observe the intimate relationship between Ross and Themistocles, his Greek servant and cook. Ross had complete trust in him and is said to have bequeathed his possessions to Themistocles. Rumors later circulated that Themistocles had pushed Ross down a flight of stairs, leading to the Norwegian painter’s death in April 1904, at the age of 61. At his friend’s funeral, Bjørnson had intended to deliver a eulogy—in Italian—but was overcome with grief and unable to speak. Nevertheless, he expressed the depth of his sorrow in a letter to Alexander Kielland two days later: 'But Ross’s death has cast a shadow. My God, my God, what we have lost!' Bjørnson eventually gave the eulogy in Italian during the May 17th celebration at the Scandinavian Association.

In addition to his many portraits, Ross also painted genre scenes from the town of Sora, where he often spent his summers. There, he frequently found charming young boys and men to serve as models and subjects—see, for instance, the homoerotic painting The Lizard Killer (1888), held by the National Museum, and Italian Street Boy or The Orange Boy (1881), which is privately owned. More on this can be found in Knut Ljøgodt’s article referenced below. As a kind of pendant to Ross’s paintings, Ljøgodt mentions the German photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden and his many images of semi-nude Sicilian youths.

It should also be noted that Christian Meyer Ross was acquainted with Ebbe Hertzberg, the Norwegian cabinet minister whose career was ruined due to his sexual orientation. Hertzberg mentions Ross in a letter to his friend Poul Andræ - see more in Jordåen 2022, referenced below.