Johan Tirén (12 October 1853, Själevad - 24 August 1911, Länna Parish,

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

) was a Swedish painter who specialized in scenes of the rural life in Northern Sweden.

Biography

He was the older brother of the artist, . At the age of seven, his family moved to Oviken in

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

, where his father served as the

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

. He originally attended the

Tekniska skolan Konstfack, or University of Arts, Crafts and Design, is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm, Sweden. History Konstfack has had several different names since it was founded in 1844 by the e ...

in Stockholm then spent the years 1877 to 1880 at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

, where he won a Royal Medal in 1880 for his painting of

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

imprisoned by

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...

. He first came to public attention when his painting, "A

Legend" was displayed at the Academy. His fellow student,

Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish painter. He attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. Among Zorn's portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three American ...

, sat as the model for the

näck The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, or Nøkken (german: Nixe; nl, nikker, ; da, nøkke; Norwegian nb, nøkk; nn, nykk; sv, näck; fo, nykur; fi, näkki; is, nykur; et, näkk; ang, nicor; eng, neck or ) are humanoid, a ...

(water spirit). After studying in

Norrland Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administr ...

in 1881, he was able to obtain a scholarship and used it to make a study trip; visiting the Netherlands, Belgium, Paris and

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

. While in Rome, he received orders from the Academy Director to begin studies in Munich. Instead, after spending the summer in Denmark, he returned to Paris and studied with

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ran ...

, but found himself uninspired to paint by what he saw there. When his travel allowance was not extended, he settled in Jämtland, where he painted landscapes and scenes from the lives of the

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

. In 1884, he married the painter Gerda Rydberg. Their children,

Nils Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas. People and animals with the given name * Nils Bergström (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player *Nils Björk (1898–1989) ...

and also became artists. He became deeply involved in the issue of rights for the Sami and, in 1892, painted a controversial scene showing them with some of their reindeer that had been shot by a farmer. It was inspired by a real incident involving a landowner named of

Ljusnedal Ljusnedal () is a village and parish in Härjedalen Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden. Ljusnedal Church (''Ljusnedals kyrka'') is a wooden church built in 1796. The interior is characterized by renovation conducted during 1902. The altarp ...

who had instigated the slaughtering of reindeer belonging to the Sami so the area could be developed.Gränsdragningskommissionen för renskötselområdet: ''Samernas sedvanemarker: betänkande'', Statens offentliga utredningar series, Fritze, 2006. The logo for , a non-profit promoter of outdoor recreation, is based on his painting, "The Skiing Lapp" from 1900.

Selected paintings

File:Johan Tirén-Samepojke leker med sin hund.jpg, Sami Boy Playing with His Dog File:Johan Tirens naecken.jpg, A Jämtland Legend File:Lapps Collecting Reindeer which have Been Shot (Johan Tirén) - Nationalmuseum - 18440.tif, Sami with Reindeer that Have Been Shot

References

Other sources

Tirén, Johan
i ''

Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon'' () is a compact Swedish dictionary of biography first published in 1873–1876 by the physician and antiquarian Herman Hofberg (1823–1883). The second, updated edition was published in 1906, under the editor ...

'', 1906
Biography
from the ''Nordisk familjebok'' @

Project Runeberg Project Runeberg ( sv, Projekt Runeberg) is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded ...

Johan Tirén
i

Nationalencyklopedin ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 19 ...

External links

More works by Tirén
@ ArtNet
Works
from the Jämtlands läns museums. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiren, Johan 1853 births 1911 deaths Swedish painters Genre painters People from Ångermanland