Some research into the background of the painting reveals that this painting has nothing to do with Norway. The painter of the original work was german and the potrayed man was dutch and not a fisherman at the time.
Some people love it and hail it as the best painting ever made, other think of it as kitch and worthless. It's popularity in Norway has never the less made the painting Iconic. "The Fisherman" was painted around 1920 by Harry Haerendel. Harry was born in Hamburg in 1896 and died in 1991. He studied painting in Hamburg and Berlin and travelled all over europe. The portrayed man is Dorus Rijkers, a dutch sea rescuer, a hero of his time. Dorus was honored for saving more than 500 people at sea. When he died at the age of 81, a parade with thousands of people participated in his funeral.
In 2014, Pøbel painted a modern version of "The Fisherman" in Henningsvær, Lofoten. His jacket is replaced with a immersion suite and his rain hat is replaced with a helmet. "The Fisherman 2014" is transformed into an oil worker.
His introvert character and rugged face, smoking tobacco while gazing towards the horizon, is still present, but the oil industry is moving towards the north of Norway and will this be the end of "The Fisherman"? The end of fishing communities and a culture that has fed europe for centuries? By his work, Pøbel is challenging the the capitalists, the oil industry and the norwegian state on an important decision for the future of northern Norway.
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