(1923 -2001)

Jakob Weidemann was a Norwegian artist. Weidemann is considered one of the most important artists within Norwegian modernism in the 1950s, and he was a pioneer of abstract painting in Norway in the decades after World War II.

Weidemann's work "The Great Bird Flies" (1959) has been named one of Morgenbladet's 12 most important works of art.

He grew up in Steinkjer and at the age of 11 he moved to Oslo to live with his mother, who was then married. He was educated at Bergen Kunsthåndverkskole (1939), Ole B. Eide's painting school (Bergen 1940-) and the Oslo Academy of Fine Arts (1941–). Jacob Weidemann's first exhibition – at Blomqvist, Oslo in 1946 – was an artistic breakthrough.

Characteristic are his abstract, expressionistic paintings with nature as a source of inspiration. After some experimentation with different styles in the 1940s and 1950s, Weidemann finally settled on what can be called an expressive, lyrical-abstract art with nature as a source of inspiration and starting point. Several of his later works are called "Impressions from Nature". Other well-known titles are "Interior", "The Road to Jerusalem", "The Great Bird Takes Off", "Fog in Gethsemane" and "Homage to El Greco".

He has carried out monumental works in Steinkjer Church (1965) and in Store Maihaugsal in Lillehammer (1967).

Weidemann was married to Anne Marie Frøisland, daughter of Frøis Frøisland. Their artist home Ringsveen near Lillehammer has been transferred to a foundation, the purpose of which is to make the property available as housing for younger artists.