Olof Hermelin (8 February 1827, in Säby Parish,
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
– 3 December 1913, in
Stocksund) was a Swedish painter, author and landowner.
Biography
His grandfather was the cartographer,
Samuel Gustaf Hermelin and his father was the baron August Söderling Hermelin, who adopted his mother's surname as his middle name because he inherited
Gripenberg Castle
Gripenberg Castle (Swedish: ''Gripenbergs slott'') is a wooden manor house near Tranås in Småland, Sweden. It is considered to be the biggest wooden castle in Sweden and one of the oldest that remain today as well.
History
Gripenberg was buil ...
from her family.
Olof studied at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
and the military school in Stockholm; joining the
Halland Regiment in 1848. He was promoted to Lieutenant two years later. His military career turned out to be short-lived, however, as he resigned the following year and settled down on his property in RÃ¥by-Rekarne Parish,
Österby
Österby is a village in Lääne-Nigula Parish, Lääne County, in western Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland acros ...
. During his time in Stockholm, he had taken classes from the landscape painter, , at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, and had decided to pursue a career as an artist instead.
In 1852, he married Malin Lucie Liljenstolpe, from another landed family.
He made study trips to Copenhagen,
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, Paris, Belgium and the Netherlands in 1870. Three years later, he revisited Düsseldorf and Paris and made a first visit to London. While in France, he was exposed to the work of the
Barbizon School, which had a major influence on his future style. Part of this involved the practice of painting en
plein aire
''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors.
This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...
.
He was also an author; producing not only works about art, but short stories and plays as well. An interest in archaeology led him to publish a scientific study about the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
excavations on the island of
Birka.
In 1871, he was named an "agré" (a type of member candidate) at the Royal Academy and, in 1876, served as the Commissioner for the Swedish art exhibit at the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. In 1885, he joined with numerous other Swedish artists in a group known as the
Opponenterna, which was opposed to what they felt were the archaic teaching methods in use at the Academy.
His works may be seen at the
Nationalmuseum
Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm.
The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...
and the
Göteborgs konstmuseum
Gothenburg Museum of Art ( sv, Göteborgs konstmuseum) is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden.
It claims to be the third largest art museum in Sweden by size of its collection.
Collections
The museum holds the world's finest collect ...
,
Göteborgs konstmuseum
/ref> among several others.
References
Other sources
*Gabriel Anrep
John Gabriel Anrep (December 4, 1821 – March 12, 1907) was a Swedish genealogist and author.
Biography
He was born on December 4, 1821 at Lekeberg Municipality on the family farm. He moved to Stockholm and was involved in genealogical pub ...
, ''Svenska adelns Ättar-taflor'' (genealogy), 1871-1882, Abrahamsson-Granfelt, Stockholm
External links
Biography
@ the ''Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon
''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered.
Volumes
# ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...
''
More works by Hermelin
@ ArtNet
Biography
@ the ''Lexikonett Amanda''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermelin, Olof
1827 births
1913 deaths
Swedish painters
Swedish landscape painters
People from Småland