Tulla (Bella) Blomberg Ranslet (born 15 May 1928,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, Norway) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

painter and sculptor.

Biography

Ranslet (née Blomberg) attended Issac Grünewald school in Stockholm in 1946 and later studied in the

Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts The Norwegian National Academy of Arts ( no, Statens kunstakademi) is a Norwegian Academy offering studies in the area of Fine Art. The Academy currently offers 3-year bachelor and 2-year MA programmes. The "Norwegian National Academy of the Arts" ...

under Prof. Per Krogh. Her first artistic appearance was with a wandering exhibition of ''Unge Kunstneres Samfund'' (U.K.S) in 1950. She was accepted to the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dan ...

the following year, where she met ceramist and sculptor Arne Ranslet. The two married in 1955 and moved to Bornholm where they had their three children – painter

Pia Ranslet Pia Ranslet (born 3 July 1956, Allinge, Bornholm, Denmark) is a Danish people, Danish painter and sculptor. Biography Pia Ranslet was born and raised in Bornholm, Denmark, eldest daughter to Tulla Blomberg Ranslet and Arne Ranslet. Her brothe ...

, sculptor Paul Ranslet and pilot Charlotte Pedersen. Ranslet made her first appearance on the island in 1965, when her

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

was exhibited at the

local museum A local museum or local history museum is a type of museum that shows the historical development of a place/region (local history) using exhibits. These museums usually maintain a collection of historic three-dimensional objects which are exh ...

alongside the works of other artists. The artifact immediately caught the eye of the press and was sold soon later in Sweden. Following were numerous exhibitions in Norway and Sweden, as well as Tulla's winning of several prizes in contests initiated by Oslo's municipality – choosing her to decorate the new children's section of Oslo's public library and two schools in Norway. Her works were also chosen to decorate schools and hospitals in Denmark, Sweden and (Germany), and an evangelical church in north Germany. Tulla soon after started providing

Skanska Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...

, a leading Swedish building company, with concrete

s used in building projects all over Europe. She resumed painting in the 80s, combining motives from her surroundings – children, animals and life at the

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

– on very large canvases. She also found the inspiration for several of her reliefs and paintings in the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

world. She exhibited several times, mostly with her husband, in the next years, and received G.I. (Guarantee Income) from the

Norwegian government The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power is ...

in 1991. The couple moved to Spain where Tulla has a painting studio.Norsk Kunstnerleksikon / Universitetsforlaget

Works

Notable works

A great deal of Tulla's work has been purchased by municipalities and placed in public institutions such as:

Large works

* ''Noas Ark'' –

Stoneware Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. Whether vi ...

(1965).The 4.2 X 2.0 meter relief was first exhibited in

Bornholm Museum Bornholm Museum is a cultural history museum located in Rønne, Denmark. The museum collects, preserves, researches, and exhibits artifacts in order to raise awareness of Bornholm's cultural heritage. History The museum's association was first ...

in 1965 and was sold the following year and exhibited in Sweden and Norway. * ''Eventyrbyen'' – Stoneware relief (1972).The 6.75-meter long relief shows a combination of fairytales from all over the world and is situated in the child section of Oslo's public library.Keramik / Gunnar Von Gergerfelt & Maiken Banner Wahlogren (page 68-69) * ''Arne'' – Acryl on canvas.A painting of Arne Ranslet, the artist's husband. * ''Røde Heste'' – Acryl on canvas (1984).Inspired by the

Seveso disaster Seveso (; lmo, label= Lombard, Séves ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based on the furniture industry. Its name comes from the river o ...

in Italy (1976). The painting symbolizes the dependence of human life on animals and a clean nature. * ''Bortførelsen'' – Acryl on canvas (2000).A fantasy painting (''The Abductio'').

Other selected works

* ''Ymers øje'' – Stoneware relief (1968) * ''Jerikos Mure'' – Stoneware relief (1966) * ''Cirkusheste'' – Stoneware relief (1978) * ''Orkester'' – Stoneware relief (1980) * ''Musik klovn'' – Stoneware sculpture (1983) * ''De blå heste'' – Acryl on canvas (1984)

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

Conjoined Exhibitions

Notes

References

External links

Tulla Ranslet’s homepage

Tulla Ranslet, Weilbach Art Lexicon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blomberg Ranslet, Tulla 1928 births Living people Artists from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian painters 21st-century Norwegian painters Norwegian contemporary artists Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Norwegian women painters 20th-century Norwegian women artists 21st-century Norwegian women artists