August Wilhelm Leu (1819-97) was a pupil of Johann W Schirmer at the Academy in Düsseldorf. Here the training advocated plein air painting and the use of relatively subdued and even colours. He continued to produce studies of landscapes during travels through Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. He was a professor at, and subsequently a member of, the Academy in Berlin. His work was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle de Paris in 1855, 1863, and 1878.

The painting is typical of Leu’s Norwegian works; he presents an essentially romantic view of nature and landscape – it is vast, beautiful and ever-changing. The diminutive figures in the foreground, dwarfed by the majestic, sublime landscape, are soon to seek shelter from an approaching storm. The broad pool of sunlight on the calm water and white sail or light in the distance add interest and allow the eye to circle the composition.

A further smaller work depicting The Falls at Ruikafoss, Norway, dated 1846, is in the Royal Collection (RCIN 406300).