Art of Sweden
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Swedish art refers to the visual arts produced in
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 SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
or by Swedish artists. Sweden has existed as a country for over 1,000 years, and for times before this, as well as many subsequent periods, Swedish art is usually considered as part of the wider
Nordic art Nordic art is the art made in the Nordic countries: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and associated territories. Scandinavian art refers to a subset of Nordic art and is art specific for the Scandinavian countries Denmark ...
of Scandinavia. It has, especially since about 1100, been strongly influenced by wider trends in European art. After World War II, the influence of the United States strengthened substantially. Due to generous art subsidies, contemporary Swedish art has a big production per capita. Though usually not especially a major centre for art production or exporter of art, Sweden has been relatively successful in keeping its art; in particular, the relatively mild nature of the
Swedish Reformation The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and did not end definitively until the Uppsala Synod of 1593 and the following War against Sigismund, with ...
, and the lack of subsequent extensive rebuilding and redecoration of churches, has meant that with other Scandinavian countries, Sweden has had an unusually rich survival of medieval church paintings and fittings. One period when Nordic art exerted a strong influence over the rest of northern Europe was in Viking art, and there are many survivals, both in stone monuments left untouched around the countryside, and objects excavated in modern times. The Reformation greatly disrupted Swedish artistic traditions, and left the existing body of painters and sculptors without large markets. The requirements of the court and aristocracy were mainly for portraits, usually by imported artists, and it was not until the late 17th or 18th century that large numbers of Swedes were trained in contemporary styles. The political success of the
Vasa dynasty The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its mem ...
led to a considerable revival, expressed in the "Gustavan style", which again had some influence over neighbouring countries. Among famous Swedish artists are John Bauer, Hilma af Klint, Carl Milles, Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson and
Carl Eldh Carl Eldh (10 May 1873 – 26 January 1954) was a Swedish artist and sculptor. Full name: Carl Johan Eldh (signs on artwork as "''C.J. ELDH''"). Older brother to Albert Eldh. Biography Eldh was born in Östhammar Municipality, Uppland, the s ...
.


History


Prehistoric art

When the Ice Age ended, the Scandinavian peninsula was populated from the south by hunters and gatherers. Art surviving from that period are
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
expressions and are simple and reflect the available material. Only the truly persistent art forms have survived the ravages of time:
petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s are such an expression. The earliest rock carvings in the form of symbols, characters and images are carved in rock outcrops and boulders. They began to be produced about 7000 BC. Sweden has one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs with a local center in Tanum Municipality in
Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...
province. During the Bronze Age, a spiral ornamentation was produced in the style that existed in Denmark. From about 400 AD, the development of the Nordic animal ornamentation, an unusually rich and imaginative style that reached its peak during the 7th century with the so-called Vendel style. Animal ornamentation experienced a renewed flourishing on the
runestones A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
. Runestones – some of which are quite illustrative and are therefore called "image blocks" – were added between about 200 AD and 1130 with a flourishing during the period 980–1100. As an art form, the runestone is specific to Nordic culture. Sweden leads the way with the highest number of runestones, with a total of 2,800 inscriptions. Approximately 85% of all the identified blocks have been in Sweden. The stones were originally painted and combined text with ornamentation and stylized characters. They can be divided into seven different styles. Some of the first known image-makers in Sweden were, in fact, rune carvers. Sweden, especially the south of the country, also participated in
Viking Age art Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th centuries ...
, along with the rest of Scandinavia.


Medieval and Gothic art

With the advent of Christianity came a new iconography, originally established in the churches, particularly in the form of
baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...
s, rood crosses and devotional sculptures. According to the
Swedish History Museum The Swedish History Museum ( sv, Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum) is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operat ...
, no other country has such a rich and comprehensive collection of medieval liturgical art. The earliest art made for the churches was Romanesque in style. It also included fabrics and gold works. From the 12th century, Gotland was a center for sculptors, such as
Majestatis Majestatis ( la, Magister Majestatis Domini, ''The Master of Christ in Majesty'', usually shortened to Majestatis and sometimes referred to as the Tryde Master, fl. second half of the 12th century) was a Romanesque stone sculptor and the creator o ...
and
Byzantios Byzantios is the notname of a Romanesque stone sculptor or workshop, working on Gotland in present-day Sweden during the last quarter of the 12th century. Byzantios was the first of a series of Romanesque stone sculpture workshops active on Gotl ...
, artists known by later notnames. The Viklau Madonna, one of the most well-preserved wooden sculptures from the 12th century in Europe, was made in a workshop on Gotland which also produced rood crosses. The
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style came to Sweden during the second half of the 13th century. Linköping Cathedral is built in English Gothic style and contains richly decorated sculptures. Other works from this period exhibit a French influence, for example the
triumphal cross A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...
from
Öja Church Öja Church ( sv, Öja kyrka) is a medieval church in Öja on the Swedish island of Gotland. The church dates from the 13th century and contains an unusual large and elaborately decorated triumphal cross or rood. It belongs to the Church of Sweden ...
, Gotland and St. Erik's statue in
Roslags-Bro Church Roslags-Bro Church ( sv, Roslags-Bro kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in the Archdiocese of Uppsala in Stockholm County, Sweden. It was built during the middle of the 13th century by an important sea-route, since disappeared as a consequence o ...
in Uppland. Most of the artistic influences of the time, however, were conveyed via present-day Germany. Apart from wooden and stone sculpture, a large amount of decorative church murals survive in Sweden. These paintings, which decorated the vaults and walls of the churches, survive in large numbers notably in Scania and Uppland. Visual narratives gained momentum in the churches in central Sweden in the late 15th century by masters such as
Nils Håkansson Nils Håkansson ( Latinized as Nicolaus Haquini) was a late medieval Swedish painter from Vadstena. Biography Håkansson, known as ''Vittskövle mästaren,'' may have been the leader of a group of painters known as the Vittskövle group (''Vitt ...
and
Albertus Pictor Albertus Pictor (English, "Albert the Painter"; Immenhusen, c. 1440 – c. 1507), also called Albert Pictor, Albert Målare and Albrekt Pärlstickare (Swedish), is the most famous late medieval Swedish painter, known for his wallpaintings survivi ...
. Motifs during this period were often religious or mythical. There are also Gothic monumental paintings on wood in Sweden. Sweden also has the largest amount of preserved medieval stained glass in the Nordic countries, the majority of which is preserved in the churches of Gotland. Contemporary with Albertus Pictor is the famous sculpture of
Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tr ...
in the Great Church of Stockholm.Hillman, 1993 It was made by the German-born painter and sculptor Bernt Notke, one of the most influential northern European artists of the late Middle Ages. Notke, who periodically lived in Sweden, was very productive and had great influence with an intense and expressionistic style.


Renaissance and Baroque art

The Vasa period of art consisted largely of portraits of princes, which were painted by foreign artists who were active in Sweden. Urban Larsson with his ''Vädersoltavla'' from 1535, in the Great Church in Stockholm, was an exception. He is one of the few well-known Swedish artists during the Vasa period and the Renaissance era. The pompous, happy and decorative made its entrance in the 17th century Great Power – during the 17th and 18th centuries the first few decades – was a grand time for architecture. A number of castles, mansions and churches built, like the Royal Palace, meant that artists were called from abroad. These foreign artists trained new generations of Swedish artists. More significant art collections were acquired through spoils of war. One famous artist was the court painter
David Kl̦cker Ehrenstrahl David Kl̦cker Ehrenstrahl (23 September 1628 Р23 October 1698) was a Sweden, Swedish nobleman and portrait painter. Biography David Kl̦cker was born in Hamburg. He was the son of Johann Kl̦cker and had eight siblings. In 1648, Kl̦ ...
. Ehrenstral was also a portraitist and animal painter, and worked with the Drottningholm Palace, together with Johan Sylvius. Erik Dahlbergh depicted the superpower era of Sweden in the great work ''
Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna ''Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna'' ("Ancient and Modern Sweden") is a collection of engravings collected by Erik Dahlbergh during the middle of the 17th century. ''Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna'' can be described as a grand vision of Sweden during its pe ...
''. Other painters were
David von Krafft David Krafft, from 1719 David von Krafft (1655 – 20 September 1724), was a German-Swedish painter, the nephew and student of David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl and his successor (in 1698) as painter to the Swedish Royal Court. Biography Krafft was bo ...
, Michael Dahl.


Rococo and the Gustavian style

Liberty and the Gustavian period was a major cultural boom in Sweden. At this time, Rococo was the initial style. Future portrait paintings made it internationally known in Swedish painting. During the period, many Swedish artists moved to continental Europe. A representative of the rococo was
Gustaf Lundberg Gustaf Lundberg (17 August 1695 – 18 March 1786) was a Swedish rococo pastelist and portrait painter. He trained and worked in Paris and later was appointed court portrait painter in Stockholm. Biography Lundberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, ...
. His technique was long dominant in the Swedish portrait arts, and he is represented at the Louvre and the National Museum and Art Academy. The French painter
Guillaume Taraval Guillaume Thomas Taraval (21 December 1701 – April 1750) was a French born, Swedish painter. Biography Guillaume Thomas Raphaël Taraval was born in France, the son of François Taraval and Chatherine Masson. He became orphaned early in li ...
was called upon to decorate the Royal Palace. Together with
Carl Hårleman Baron Carl Hårleman (27 August 1700 – 9 February 1753) was a Swedish architect. Biography Hårleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan Hårleman, who had been ennobled in 1698. ...
he advocated the new relaxed style. A leading style artist was
Jean Eric Rehn Jean Eric Rehn (18 May 1717, Stockholm - 19 May 1793, Stockholm) was a Swedish architect, engraver and designer. Biography His father, Eric, was a government ombudsman for the Sámi people. While still a boy, he became part of the , a forerunne ...
, a student of HÃ¥rleman, who worked as craftsmen, architect and artist. Alexander Roslin took inspiration from France and conducted many highly sensitive portraits of the era's finest personalities. Some of Roslin's portraits are among the most reproduced from the period. Of major importance was also Carl Gustaf Pilo, who became a court painter in Denmark. Pilo was inspired both by Venetian artists and the Dutchman Rembrandt van Rijn. Pilo returned, however, to Sweden and then painted the great work Gustaf III's coronation in Stockholm Cathedral. Other prominent names were Johan Pasch, Per Krafft the Elder, Peter Adolf Hall,
Pehr Hilleström Pehr Hilleström (18 November 1732 – 13 August 1816) was a Swedish artist. He served as a professor and director at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Biography Hilleström was born on the island of Väddö in the district of Roslagen, Sw ...
and, perhaps most importantly, Johan Tobias Sergel. Over time, beginning around 1770, Rococo was succeeded in Sweden by the Gustavian period. Swedish neoclassicism is said to have begun around 1785. The Gustavian period was characterized by both French and English influence. After Gustav III's death, there was a period of stagnation in Swedish art. On the other hand, peasant painting flourished in particular, Dalarna and Hälsingland with painting and Dala horses during this time. Peasantry painting became a major inspiration for the 18th century artist Carl Larsson.
Gothicism Gothicism or Gothism ( sv, Göticism ; la, Gothicismus) was a cultural movement in Sweden, centered on the belief in the glory of the Swedish Geats, who were identified with the Goths. The founders of the movement were Nicolaus Ragvaldi and th ...
and
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
were the styles of art for several decades, including artists like the sculptor Bengt Fogelberg. Fogelberg, who was inspired by the Danish sculptor
Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...
, created powerful statues of Nordic deities and historical figures.


Karl Johan style

From the mid-19th century and a few decades later, nature paintings dominated the scene, with
Marcus Larsson Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobâr ...
in the lead. Artists that pointed to something new were Egron Lundgren and
Carl Fredrik Hill Carl Fredrik Hill (31 May 1849 – 22 February 1911) was a Swedish painter and draftsman. He is known for the atmospheric landscapes he painted during the first four years of his career, and for the drawings of fantastical scenes he created aft ...
. Hill became one of the foremost Swedish landscape painters as he had views that reflected his personality and often express despair and darkness. Egron Lundberg developed watercolor art, as he traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, and painted his findings. Historical painting was also done extensively during the period, including artists such as
Carl Gustaf Hellqvist Carl Gustaf Hellqvist (15 December 1851 – 19 November 1890) was one of Sweden's most popular historical painters in the 19th century. Biography He was born in Kungsör, between Arboga and Eskilstuna at Mälaren, Lake Mälaren, Sweden, whe ...
and
Gustaf Cederström Gustaf Olof Cederström (1845-1933) was a Swedish painter who specialized in historical scenes and portraits. Biography His father, (1804-1892) was a naval officer and his mother, Theresine (1815-1873), was an amateur painter. His interest in his ...
. Another painter was August Malmström, who created historic and romantic nature works and illustrated many fairytales.


Romanticism and naturalism

From an international perspective Swedish-produced art languished in obscurity until the late 19th century, when a number of Swedish artists gained attention outside of Sweden. Especially the 1880s and the following two decades were periods of greatness in the Swedish art. Perhaps the best artist of them is the painter, sculptor, and printmaker Anders Zorn. Zorn was an extremely talented oil painter with a very precise but free style. Anders Zorn painted landscapes and people and is known for his nude studies of the hillocks from Dalarna. Zorn was also concerned with depicting peasant life in his home province of Dalarna.
Amalia Lindegren Amalia Euphrosyne Lindegren (22 May 181427 December 1891) was a Swedish artist and painter. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts (1856). Biography Amalia Lindegren was born in Stockholm to Anna Catharina Lindgren (d. 1817), w ...
also created glorified scenes of the Swedish peasant and folk. Zorn was counted as one of the foremost painters in Europe in the late 19th century and made many portraits of contemporary celebrities. Some famous work is ''Love's Nymph'' (1883), ''A Prime'' (1888), ''Midsummer Dance'' (1897), ''President Grover Cleveland'' (1899) and ''Bathing hills'' (1906). Zorn's art is featured at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the White House, and his works are among the most valued of all Swedish artists. Another big name from this generation is Carl Larsson. Larsson, like Zorn, appeared in Dalarna and is one of the most beloved Swedish artists. Larsson painted primarily in watercolor and his motifs were found in daily life: he often portrayed his own family and their home in Sundborn. His style is airy, very light and is characterized by a skillful interplay of surfaces and lines. Larsson created frescoes and wall paintings, like "
Midvinterblot ''Midvinterblot'' (Swedish for " Midwinter sacrifice") is a painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson, created in 1915 for the hall of the central staircase in Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. It has been called Sweden's most controversial pai ...
" and several other frescoes in 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 ...
in Stockholm. Larsson became very famous in Germany in connection with an art book, ''A Home'', that was published there. Another painter who achieved great popularity was Bruno Liljefors with very precise paintings of nature and animals in motion. Two painters with great stylistic ability were Eugène Jansson and
Ernst Josephson Ernst Abraham Josephson (1851-1906) was a Swedish painter and poet. He specialized in portraits, genre scenes of folklife and folklore. Background He was born to a middle-class family of merchants of Jewish ancestry. His uncle, Ludvig Josephso ...
. Taking stylistic inspiration from van Gogh, Jansson's paintings are often geometrically simple large forms, tranquil Stockholm motifs as well as powerful homoerotic male figures. Josephsson is more varied and known for masterful oil portraits. He became an inspiration for the later modernism. Portrait painting was also developed by Richard Bergh as well as by
Nils Kreuger Nils Edvard Kreuger (11 October 1858 – 11 May 1930) was a Swedish painter. He specialized in landscapes and rural scenes.
from the ...
. A significant development came in 1885 with the artists' group Opponenterna ('the Opponents'), who wanted to renew Swedish painting and gathered many of those names. A few years later, in the 1890s, Bergh and Kreuger founded the together with
Karl Nordström Karl Fredrik Nordström (11 July 1855 – 16 August 1923) was a Swedish painter who specialized in landscapes. From 1896 to 1920, he was Chairman of the Association of Artists (Konstnärsförbundet). Biography His father was a police commissio ...
. They reacted against the realistic landscape style and were inspired by Paul Gauguin. Especially Nordström was inspired by the French impressionists. A close friend of Nordström was the author and the universal genius of August Strindberg. Even Strindberg was an important Swedish painter from the period. The rise of women artists, such as
Eva Bonnier Eva Fredrika Bonnier (17 November 1857 – 13 January 1909) was a Swedish painter and philanthropist. __TOC__ Biography Born in Stockholm as the daughter of publisher Albert Bonnier and a member of a leading family of publishers, Bonnier st ...
, and
Hanna Pauli Hanna Hirsch, later Hanna Pauli (Stockholm, 13 January 1864 – 29 December 1940, Solna), was a Swedish painter; primarily of genre scenes and portraits. Life Hanna Hirsch was a daughter of music publisher Abraham Hirsch. She was a friend of Ev ...
, who took inspiration from Rembrandt and others, also became prominent in this period.


Modernism and expressionism

Modernism began to enter Swedish art with
Axel Törneman Johan Axel Gustaf Törneman (28 October 1880 – 26 December 1925) was one of Sweden's earliest modernist painters. Born in Persberg, Värmland, in Sweden, he grew to work in several modernist styles, was one of the first Swedish expressionist ...
and then ('the Young Ones', also known as , 'the Men of 1909'), which was a group of young male artists, mainly from
Konstnärsförbundets skola was a painting school in Stockholm, Sweden, which was offered by ('the Artists' Society') 1890–1908. The latter association was in turn established in opposition to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. One of the school's co-founders was R ...
. More abstract forms were represented by Hilma af Klint,
Nils von Dardel Nils Dardel (full name Nils Elias Kristofer von Dardel, sometimes known as ''Nils de Dardel'') was a 20th-century Swedish Post-Impressionist painter, grandson to famous Swedish painter Fritz von Dardel. Biography Dardel was born in Bettna, S ...
and Gösta Adrian Nilsson. The mid-1920s and a couple of decades following were both characterized by surrealism, the
Halmstad Group Halmstadgruppen was a group of six artists that collectively followed and developed avant-garde modern art movements such as cubism, post-cubism, purist, futurist and surrealism at Halmstad in Halland County, Sweden. A permanent showroom in Mjellb ...
, and of expressionism, which includes Gothenburg School realists
Sven Erixson Sven "X-et" Leonard Erixson (23 November 1899 - 17 May 1970) was a Swedish painter and sculptor. Son of Alfred and Mathilda Eriksson, he was married to Ingeborg Erixson with whom he had two children: a son, the artist Sverre Erixson (born 1932) ...
and
Bror Hjorth Bror Hjorth (1894 in Marma, Sweden – May 21, 1968 in Uppsala, Sweden) was a Swedish artist. Hjorth was one of Sweden’s best-known sculptors and painters, and was professor of art at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockh ...
, and a rigorous formalist, abstract minimalism of artists such as . Among the sculptors of the period are Carl Eldh and Carl Milles. Both have had great influence and the latter is perhaps the most famous Swedish sculptor of all time. From the same generation of sculptors came the self-taught wood sculptor and realist people portrayer
Axel Petersson D̦derhultarn Axel "D̦derhultarn" Petersson, formerly Axel Petersson, (12 December 1868 Р15 March 1925) was a Swedish wood carver who was one of the recognized masters of wood carving, most famous for Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving, Sca ...
. After World War II, Swedish art was in somewhat of a boom and a host of artists established themselves. With a new democratic idea in 1947 that art was founded for everyone, popular movements promoting art and in the same period also launched a variety of arts organizations across the country. Among the radicals of the 1930s, such as painter Albin Amelin and graphic artist and monumental painter Torsten Billman, the work continued to bring images to the working people. Torsten Billman also reached new groups through his literary illustrations. In the 1950s expressionists emerged like and more informal painters such as and . In the early 1960s, Swedish art was revitalized by graphic artists such as and .


References


Further reading

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Art Of Sweden
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 SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...