Jonas Wallström, born Andersson (6 April 179826 April 1862) was a Swedish

decorative painter A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is to imp ...

. He is known for the use of

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

s to create elaborate patterns and for decorating the interiors of

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Gästgivars Gästgivars is a Swedish farm in the Bollnäs Municipality and the province of Hälsingland. It is one of the seven decorated farms of Hälsingland which are collectively recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1 July 2012. Gästgivar ...

in Vallsta,

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. Ad ...

Biography

Wallström was born in

Vallsta Vallsta is a locality situated in Bollnäs Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of S ...

village in

. He was the son of soldier and lumberjack Anders Krok (1768–1837) and Greta Jonsdotter (1770–1853), and the second oldest among four children. Between 1814 and 1821 he lived in Hudiksvall while working as a

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

of master painter Anders Winberg. He would later move back to Vallsta. At some point during or after his apprenticeship he adopted the surname Wallström after his home village. He continued his studies as a journeyman at Gustaf Söderbergs workshop in Stockholm between 1823 and 1831. Wallström is also believed to have studied under Carl Fredric Torsselius, a renowned designer of wallpapers. In the 1830s he returned to Vallsta once more and popularised the elaborate use of stencils for decorative painting in the region. Wallström would throughout his career remain a journeyman. Wallström married Karin Jonsdotter from Hudiksvall in 1831. They had five daughters together. He was a close friend of painter Olof Hofrén who was appointed godfather to one of Wallströms daughters. Wallström passed away at home in Arbrå socken 26 April 1862, at the age of 64.

Works

Wallström has painted several farmhouses in the central part of the

Ljusnan Ljusnan (from Old Norse: ''Lusn'' — light) is a river in Sweden, which is 440 kilometers long. The river starts in northwestern Härjedalen and then continues throughout the province into Hälsingland all the way to the Bothnian Sea. The bigg ...

valley, mostly in the regions of

Bollnäs Bollnäs () is a Swedish locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, in Gävleborg County, Sweden. It had 26,937 inhabitants in 2017 History The first recording of Bollnäs in writing is from 1312 when a vicar named Ingemund referred to it ...

and Arbrå. Some of his works were signed, while others have been attributed to Wallström based on their style, including choice of

motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...

and colours. His works are of various natures, a few pieces of furniture and paintings, but mostly complete interiors. The use of painted golden frames,

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s and other ornaments in empire style is prominent. The painted motifs that the ornaments frame are usually

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

or romantic landscapes. It is likely that he used german catalogues as inspiration or models. The painted interiors of

in Vallsta are well preserved examples of Wallströms skill. A printed version of his "Gästgivars-wallpaper" was launched by Duro Sweden during the 1960s. The landscapes in the great hall are believed to have been drawn or copied from an unknown source. File:Väggmålning stora salen Gästgivars.jpg, The great hall at

File:Schablonmålning på Gästgivars.jpg, Close up of the "Gästgivars-wallpaper" File:Överstycke_Gästgivars.jpg, Close up of ornamentations at Gästgivars Other works attributed to Wallström are exhibited at Hälsinglands museum, Renshammar in

, Wallins in Växbo, Lars-Pers in Hov, Träslottet in Koldemo and Arbrå Fornhem. Though whether Wallström actually painted at Träslottet has been questioned. At Wallins he restored decorative painting performed by Paul Hallberg and completed a few works of his own in other rooms on the lower floor. He initiated work on the altar piece of Norrbo church in 1838, but had to give up due to failing health, after which the altar piece was completed by Albert Blombergsson. As the tradition of Helsingian painting was degenerating Wallström gradually shifted his work to paintings. A few of these paintings from the early 1860s have been preserved.

References

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallström, Jonas 1798 births 1862 deaths 19th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters 19th-century Swedish male artists