Tora Vega Holmström (March 2, 1880, Tottarp,
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
– January 28, 1967,
Lund
Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
) was a Swedish painter.
Early life and education
Anna Tora Vega Elisabeth Holmström grew up with five siblings at Hvilan Community College in
Ã…karp
Åkarp () is a locality situated in Burlöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 5,617 inhabitants in 2010.
It is situated approximately 8 km northeast of Malmö and 13 km southwest of Lund. It has a railway station where the Skåne ...
, run by her parents. In what was Sweden's first
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
, the young woman found an intellectually dynamic environment conducive to societal debates.
From 1900 to 1902, Holmström studied at the
Valand Academy
Valand Academy ( sv, Akademin Valand) is a school for film, photography, literary composition, and fine art at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden.
It was formed in 2012 through the merger of three formerly independent schools/de ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
.
She was admitted there thanks to her sister, who sent Holmström's drawings to
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 Nav ...
, artist and director of the school of painting. Although aware of Holmström's talent, Wilhelmson replied in his letter:— "
..however, she has one thing against her: her sex. Because a woman can never become an artist to be encouraged and God preserve us for those we already have."
Career
Holmström made several trips to France, Finland, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Algeria. At the
Old Port of Marseille
The Old Port of Marseille (French: ''Vieux-Port de Marseille'', ) is at the end of the Canebière, the major street of Marseille. It has been the natural harbour of the city since antiquity and is now the main popular place in Marseille. It became ...
, she met one of her favorite models, a woman named Cathérine.
During Holmström's studies, she became friends with two other Swedish artists, and . Under the group name "Trois Mousquetaires", they created a network of women artists, and organized an extended trip to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1907. Holmström worked particularly with
Ester Almqvist
Ester Dorothea Almqvist (3 November 1869 – 11 June 1934) was a Swedish artist who was a pioneer of Expressionist painting in Sweden.
Family and education
Almqvist was born in Bromma but spent her childhood in Stockholm, where her parents tau ...
,
Ellen Trotzig, and abroad with
MarÃa Blanchard
MarÃa Blanchard (born MarÃa Gutiérrez-Cueto y Blanchard;
spanish-art.org; accessed 4 August 2015.
.
Holmström is known for
painting portraits,
still life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...
s and
landscapes of Scania. In the 1910s, Holmström discovered the
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 ...
of the Scanian
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
woman, which became central to her work. The original model was her brother's mother-in-law, who stands out for her proud attitude. Holmström mainly worked in
oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varn ...
and
pastel
A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...
. In her early days, her painting was influenced by
romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
, then by the early 20th century,
modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
with
cubist,
expressive
Expressivity, expressiveness, and expressive power may refer to:
*Expressivity (genetics), variations in a phenotype among individuals carrying a particular genotype
*Expressive loa, a type of loanword in phono-semantic matching
*Expressive power ...
and sometimes
surrealist color theorist Adolf Hölzel">color_theory.html" ;"title="trokes. Her meeting with the color theory">color theorist Adolf Hölzel, in Dachau, Bavaria">Dachau
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
, is decisive in her scientific conception of color and contrasts.
In 1914, Holmström presented a dozen works at the Baltic Exhibition in Malmö. The vigor of her style and the audacity of her colors aroused critics, who considered them brutal and "insufficiently feminine".
Through the initiative of Hanna Larsdotter, who invited artists and writers to her castle, Holmström met
.
with Rilke's 28 letters bearing witness to short meetings and discussions around
.
Holmström never married or had children, which gave her the status of a professional artist all her life.
* ''Le cavalier'', 1921, Moderna Museet
* ''MarÃa Blanchard'', 1921, Moderna Museet
* ''Madone espagnole'', 1931, Moderna Museet
* ''Cilia, la tisserande'', 1937, Moderna Museet