Johan Axel Gustaf Törneman (28 October 1880 – 26 December 1925) was one of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

's earliest

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

painters. Born in

Persberg Persberg is a locality situated in Filipstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to ...

Värmland Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Name Several Latinized version ...

, in Sweden, he grew to work in several modernist styles, was one of the first Swedish

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

artists, and became a part of the international

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

in art after embracing more abstract art styles in Germany and France that were evolving there during the early 1900s. He created his most famous paintings, ''Night Café I'' and ''II'', and ''Trait'', in France in 1905. These night café paintings, made from studies in the

Place Pigalle The Place Pigalle is a public square located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, between the Boulevard de Clichy and the Boulevard de Rochechouart, near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Paris, Sacré-Cœur, at the foot of the Montmartre hill. The ...

, and in other nightclubs popular with artists such as ''Café du Rat Mort'' (Dead Rat Café), are seen as two of Swedish modernism's most important works, and are considered breakthrough work of Swedish modernism. Törneman gained international stature in 1905 at the Salon d'Automne in Paris with ''Trait I'', and with his ''Narragansett Café'' in 1906. He went on to paint murals and decorations in public buildings such as the

Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university. Since 2018, KTH consist ...

(KTH) and

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...

, and other Stockholm buildings such as

Norra Latin Norra Latin is the familiar Swedish name of a historic Stockholm school more properly known as ''Högre allmänna läroverket för gossar å Norrmalm'' ("public senior secondary school for boys at Norrmalm"). Completed in 1880, for over a hun ...

Ragnar Östberg Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall. Biography Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 an ...

's Östermalms läroverkl, and the second chamber in the

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

. Törneman's paintings were recognized with a gold medal at the U.S.

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

, in San Francisco in 1915. Törneman died in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

at age 45 after only a further decade of creative work.

Education, travel, and early work

Johan Axel Gustaf Törneman was born on 28 October 1880 in

Sweden, the son of John Algot Törneman, an engineer at an explosives factory; his grandmother was the cookbook author Gustafva Bjorklund.Säll, Jonna
En av de viktigaste banbrytarna för svensk konst
(in Swedish, EN title: "One of the most important pioneers of Swedish art"), ''

Nya Wermlands-Tidningen ''Nya Wermlands-Tidningen'' (meaning "The New Värmland Newspaper" in English), shortened ''NWT'', is a Swedish local newspaper distributed in the provinces of Värmland, Dalsland and western Dalarna. History and profile The newspaper was found ...

'', nwt.se culture section, June 18, 2011, via archive.org. Accessed 2015-11-16.
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Accessed 2015-11-16.) Törneman studied at Värmland School of Art in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

in 1899 under

Carl Wilhelmson Carl Wilhelm Wilhelmson (12 November 1866, Fiskebäckskil – 24 September 1928, Gothenburg) was a Swedish painter, graphic artist, amateur photographer and art teacher. Biography His father, Anders Wilhelmson, was a "Bästeman" (a type of Mast ...

, then toured the Nordic lands for a short while before traveling to study on the European continent in the years 1900–1905.Gerlanius, Hans Alexander
Johan Axel Gustaf Törneman
biographical entry at ''Konstnärslexikonett Amanda'' (online biographical dictionary of Swedish/Nordic artists, in Swedish) via archive.org. Accessed 2015-11-16.
Google translate
. In Europe, he first studied at the Kunstakademie

München Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(now the

Akademie der Bildenden Künste München The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

), then went to

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

to study under

Adolf Hölzel Adolf Richard Hölzel (13 May 1853 – 17 October 1934) was a German painter. He began as a Realist, but later became an early promoter of various Modern styles, including Abstractionism. Biography Hölzel was born in Olmütz. His father wa ...

. In Munich he was influenced by the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

movement and

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

Arnold Böcklin Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss Symbolism (arts), Symbolist Painting, painter. His five versions of the ''Isle of the Dead (painting), Isle of the Dead'' inspired works by several late-Romantic composers. Biography ...

Franz Stuck Franz Ritter von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with ...

, and others. Törneman grew to work in several modernist styles, was one of the first Swedish

artists, and became a part of the international

in art after having embraced the then-new, more abstract art style in Germany and France during the early 1900s.Brinton, Christian
The Swedish art exhibition
Brooklyn Museum, 1916, p. 20. Accessed 2012-12-19.Röstorp, Vibeke
Les Artistes Suédois et Norvégiens en France de 1889 à 1908, Le Mythe du Retour
(Swedish and Norwegian Artists in France from 1889 to 1908, The Myth of Return),

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

thesis, univ-paris4.fr, 2011, p. 7, via archive.org. Accessed 2012-12-19. (in French) (Googl
translate

Career in France and Sweden

After leaving Germany, Törneman was active in Paris for four years, and also in the Breton village of Coudeville,

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. In Paris he studied at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

, where after seeing

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

's and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

's work, he brightened his palette. During his time in Paris, Törneman's friends were able to locate him by following the sketches he left in Paris cafés.Landi, Ann
Auto-Destructive Tendencies
"Whether by burning, cutting, shredding, or simply leaving them at the curb, artists have various reasons for disposing of their own work", ''

ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American art magazine, based in New York City. It covers visual arts from ancient to contemporary times. It is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. ''ARTnews'' has a readership of 180,000 in 124 co ...

'', artnews.com, 24 December 2012. Accessed 2013-1-10. See also, Livingston, Paisley, and Archer, Carol
Artistic Collaboration and the Completion of Works of Art
British Journal of Aesthetics, 50(4), October 2010, pp. 439–455, Oxford University Press. Accessed 2013-1-10. ; and

Unfinished creative work An unfinished creative work is a painting, novel, musical composition, or other creative work, that has not been brought to a completed state. Its creator may have chosen not to finish it, deferred its completion indefinitely, or may have been pr ...

. Törneman had a small studio in Paris at 7 rue de Bagneux.Norlind, Ernst
Axel Törneman
in Intermezzon och bagateller, Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm 1907, pp. 61-83 at 75. Accessed 2015-11-16. A narrative by a fellow Parisian ex-pat artist about Törneman's years in Paris, illustrated with
caricature
of Törneman at work with caption: ''Några anteckningar om vännen och vapenbrodern i kampen för den unga konsten. Sångerskan, Gudrun Høyer-Ellefsen, tillägnade''; ("Axel Törneman, Some notes about your friends and brothers in arms in the fight for avant garde art") and signed "Gudrun Høyer-Ellefsen" (his wife); (whol
Google book
) His night café paintings, based on studies in

, and a Paris nightclub popular with artists, ''Café du Rat Mort'' (Dead Rat Café), are two of Swedish modernism's most important works,Axel Törneman
,

Bukowskis Bukowskis is a Scandinavian fine art and antique auction house established in 1870 by the Polish nobleman Henryk Bukowski in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1979, an office was opened in Helsinki, Finland. In 1991, Göran Gustafsson Kapital AB bought Buko ...

' artist record. Accessed 2015-11-16. though Törneman was less influenced by the French modernists than by the Germans. Three of these, his most famous paintings, ''Night Café I'' and ''II,'' and ''Trait'', he painted in 1905 while in France. Törneman gained international stature in that same year, in the Salon d'Automne in Paris, for ''Trait I'', and for ''Narragansett Café'' in 1906. Returning from the continent, he moved to Stockholm, to Katarinavägen, next door to the studio of main competitor and critic of his work,

Isaac Grünewald Isaac Grünewald (2 September 1889 – 22 May 1946) was a Swedish people, Swedish-Jewish expressionist Painting, painter born in Stockholm. He was the leading and central name in the first generation of Swedish modernists from 1910 up until h ...

. Although another of his studios (on Södermalm in Stockholm) was in the same building as the sculptor and fellow Värmlander Christian Eriksson, he did not work with Eriksson's group at the Rackstad colony in

Arvika Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,244 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the tim ...

. Some of Törneman's contemporaries included

Sigrid Hjertén Sigrid Hjertén (27 October 1885 – 24 March 1948) was a Swedish modernist painter. Hjertén is considered a major figure in Swedish modernism. Periodically she was highly productive and participated in 106 exhibitions. She worked as an artist ...

(1885–1948), Gösta Von Hennigs (1866–1941) and

Leander Engström Per Leander Engström, sometimes denoted as The Elder (27 February 1886 – 6 February 1927) was a Swedish painter. He specialized in portraits and colorful wilderness scenes in the Expressionist style. Biography Engström was born in 1886 in Yt ...

(1886–1927). Törneman was recognized with a gold medal at the U.S.

, in San Francisco in 1915. Törneman traveled intermittently in relation to his art (e.g., in 1912, to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

), and toward the end of his life, he largely abandoned his early dark palette, and instead worked almost entirely in the brighter colors from his Paris days.

Mural work

In addition to his many paintings on canvas, at various times in his career Törneman produced illustrations for commercial projects, as well as painting

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s and large scale murals in public spaces, such as the

(KTH),

, other Stockholm buildings such as

, Östermalms läroverk, Östra Real, and the second chamber of the

.Bonetto, Cristian, Stockholm: encounter, Lonely Planet Encounter Series, Lonely Planet, 2007, p. 41. . Törneman began the ceiling mural ''De elektriska strömmarna'' (The electric currents), in 1918 in a lecture hall of the KTH.Lindqvist, Svante,, ''Industriminne'', Industrial Heritage Society, ''The Journal Nordic Museology'', 2:2003, pp. 27–50 at pp. 35–41. Partial archive of the original via archive.org. Accessed 2012-12-19
Full issue 2:2003
(in Swedish). Accessed 2015-11-30. This very ambitions painting project was a subject of much discussion, and when completed was unanimously praised by critics, but disappeared from view until its rediscovery. During the 1950s, the ceiling painting ''De elektriska'' disappeared, having been hidden behind a new ceiling during a renovation; with time, speculation arose that it had been destroyed during construction at its KTH site. After nearly 40 years, and its being near forgotten, ''De elektriska'' was found during 1993 repairs to its original building, intact, though a ventilation duct had been installed through it. The painting, still considered an important part of Swedish cultural heritage, was restored and moved—a thin layer of it was removed with great care and affixed to a new support in its new location—work that took a year and cost five-times as much as commission for the original artwork; it re-opened to the public in its new location, in 1994.

Personal life

Törneman married the Norwegian

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...

Gudrun Høyer-Ellefsen (1875-1963), whom he had met in Paris during his time there, in 1908. His son Algot Törneman, later became an artist in his own right, and it was he who Törneman pictured in his 1921 painting ''Algot med teddybjörn'' (Algot with teddybear). Axel Törneman died in

at 45, after several hospitalizations, from gastrointestinal causes (assigned at the time as

bleeding ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

s).

Legacy

Törneman has been referred to as " e of the most important pioneers of Swedish art". Törneman's letters, some sketchbooks, paintings, and some of his personal belongings are preserved at the ''Kungliga biblioteket'' ("Royal Library"), in the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden (, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published ab ...

, in Stockholm.Törneman's collection, SE S-HS ACC1994/76
Manuscript Division,

. Accessed 2020-04-10. In 1965 the ''

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in Malmö. History The museum opened in Stockh ...

,'' in Stockholm ("Modern Museum", a museum of modern art) held a major retrospective exhibition of his work, 40 years after his death.

Selected works

File:Axel Törneman The White Birch 1902.png, ''Den vita björken'', 1902
(''The White Birch'') File:Axel Törneman Bretagnare I.jpg, ''Bretagnare I'', 1905
(''Bretons I'') File:Farmer in Brittany by Axel Törneman.jpg, ''Bonden i Bretagne'', 1905
(''Farmer in Brittany'') File:Axel_Törneman_Selfportrait_1905.jpg, ''Självporträtt'', 1905
(''Self-portrait'') File:Axel Törneman - Kokotter.jpg, ''Kokotter'', 1905
(''Coquettes'') File:Axel Törneman Nattcafé I.jpg, ''Nattcafé I'', 1905–1906
(''Night Café I'') File:Axel Törneman Nattcafé II.jpg, ''Nattcafé II'', 1906
(''Night Café II'') File:Youth Axel Törneman 1919.jpg, ''Ungdom'', 1919
(''Youth'') File:Törneman sagostund.jpg, ''Sagostund'', 1919
(''Storytime'') File:Algot med teddybjörn - Algot with a teddy bear.jpg, ''Algot med teddybjörn'', 1921
(''Algot with teddybear'') File:Torneman Timmerflottare.png, ''Timmerflottare'', 1921
(''Timber floaters'') File:Axel Törneman -Skuggor.jpg, ''Skuggor'', 1925
(''Shadows'') File:Torneman the troll.jpg, ''Trollkungen och prinsessan'', 1925
(''The Troll King and the Princess'') File:Axel Törneman akv.jpg, ''Självporträtt'' (watercolour)
(''Self-portrait'') File:Stadshuset Axel Törneman.jpg, ''Stadshuset bygges'', kalkmålning i "Blåa rummet" intill Gyllene salen
(''City Hall is Built'', Stockholm City Hall, fresco in the "Blue Room" next to the Golden Hall) File:Axel Törneman kiruna.jpg, ''Verk i

Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...

''
(''Work in Kiruna City Hall'')Art in Kiruna
Accessed 2012-12-19. (in Swedish)
Google translate

References

External links

Swedish National Museum
Törneman items. Accessed 2015-11-16.

Axel Törneman (1880–1925), short essay on the work ''The Troll King and the Princess'', 1905. Accessed 2012-12-19.

mural. Accessed 2012-12-19.
Galleri Claes Moser
, Törneman's estate agent, also runs the JAG Acke Museum in Ljusterö, gallerimoser.com. Accessed 2015-11-16. * Axel Törnema
Törneman works that have been auctioned
, Stockholms Auktionsverk, auktionsverket.com. Accessed 2012-12-20. Major Stockholm art auction house. See als
Vid pianot
(''At the Piano''), an unsold Törneman work at Stockholms Auktionsverk, 2011-12-06. Accessed 2012-12-19. (in Swedish) (Googl
translate
* Axel Törneman on Artnet
Past auctions of works
artnet.com. Accessed 2012-12-20. {{DEFAULTSORT:Torneman, Axel 20th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters Modern painters 1880 births 1925 deaths People from Filipstad Municipality Deaths from ulcers 20th-century Swedish male artists

Education, travel, and early work

Career in France and Sweden

Mural work

Personal life

Legacy

Selected works

See also

References

Further reading

Exhibition catalogs

Other works

External links