Hermann August Cappelen (1827
–1852) was a Norwegian painter. Born in Skien, Norway, he received drawing instruction from Hans Gude in Christiania in 1845. The following year, he traveled to Düsseldorf, where he studied under Professor Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. Cappelen is identified as a national-romantic artist, closely associated with the Düsseldorf School.
Cappelen's personal style featured melancholic, dramatic, and romantic landscape compositions. After a visit to his homeland in 1850, he developed an independent artistic approach. During the final two years of his life, he created several large-scale romantic landscapes of Norway, including works such as Metsälampi (Forest Pond) and Kuoleva aarniometsä (Dying Primeval Forest). His naturalistic studies and meritorious color handling demonstrated a developing originality.
