Johannes ("Johan") Törnström (born April 17, 1743, in Ekeby,

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''väst ...

; died February 20, 1828 in Karlskrona) was Admiralty sculptor to the Swedish Navy at the

Karlskrona naval base The Karlskrona naval base ( sv, Karlskrona örlogsbas) is the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy. Located in Blekinge in southern Sweden, the base has close ties with the city of Karlskrona. It has an exceptionally well-sheltered location: a ...

. He carved a number of figureheads for naval vessels, which are now housed at the

Marinmuseum Marinmuseum (previously: Shipyard Museum, ''Varvsmuseet''; alternate: Naval Dockyard Museum; translation: Naval Museum) is a maritime museum located on Stumholmen island, in Karlskrona. It is Sweden's national naval museum, dedicated to the Swedish ...

Early years

The son of a farmer, Törnström apprenticed in Stockholm with the wood sculptor GJ Fast, and with the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Masreliez (or Maserliez) (1753–1801). While Masreliez trained Törnström in wood carving and cabinet making, he never received formal training at the

Royal Swedish Academy of 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, archite ...

. His work, and that of

Fredrik Henrik af Chapman Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (9 September 1721 in Gothenburg – 19 August 1808) was a Swedish shipbuilder, scientist and officer in the Swedish navy. He was also manager of the Karlskrona shipyard 1782-1793. Chapman is credited as the world' ...

, the Swedish Naval officer and shipbuilder, was inspired and influenced by the Neoclassical ideas of Admiral

Augustin Ehrensvärd Field Marshal count Augustin Ehrensvärd (25 September 1710 – 4 October 1772) was a Swedish military officer, military architect, artist, creator of the Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) fortress, Svartholm fortress and the Swedish archipelago fleet. H ...

Career

Törnström worked for a time as a furniture carver; he created works for the

Stockholm Royal Palace Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace ( sv, Stockholms slott or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Pala ...

until 1781; he created carvings for ships. Most likely, Törnström became acquainted with af Chapman during this time. In 1781, af Chapman became manager of the Karlskrona shipyard, and summoned Törnström to become the official figurehead carver to the Navy. From 1782 to 1818, he worked at the shipyard's Sculptor’s Workshop, which was originally built in the 1760, but whose masque crowning was redesigned by Törnström in a Neoclassical architectural style, meant to represent the classical Greek goddess of drama. He created most of the figureheads for 19 frigates (female depictions) and 15 ships of the line (male depictions) during his years at the Karlskrona shipyard. The oak carvings depicted Neoclassical figures, which could be more than in height and could take as much as 24 months to complete. While his style was described as "rugged" and "chunky", and evoked antique ideals as patriotic works, his female figures were characterized as buxom, wearing

diaphanous In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions ...

clothing. Several of his figureheads are part of the collection at the

on Stumholmen Island in Karlskrona, ten of which arrived in the 1960s. When the Navy suspended

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

in 1790, Törnström created works for churches to provide for his family of ten children. He became a member of the

in 1803. In 1814, he created the altarpiece and pulpit for the German Church in Karlskrona (''Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan''; also, "Church of Holy Trinity"). He died in 1828.

Gallery

Some of Törnström's figureheads are on display at the Marinmuseum. They include Minerva, Fäderneslandet ("Fatherland"), Fröja, Camilla, Galatea, Försiktigheten ("Prudence"), Äran ("Honour"), Dristigheten, La Badine och Carl XIII. File:Figurehead 158.JPG, ''Svea'' for the gunship ''Fäderneslandet'' (1783) File:Figurehead 167.JPG, "Äran" for the ship of the line ''Äran'' (1784) File:Figurehead 159.JPG, ''La Badin'' for the brigantine ''Le Badin'' (1815) File:Figurehead 156.JPG, The goddess of "Victory" for the gunship ''Carl XIII'' (1819)

Early years

Career

Gallery

References

Further reading