Carl Einar Andreas Forseth (1892–1988) was a Swedish artist, remembered above all for his mosaics in the

Golden Hall The Golden Hall (''Jindian'' or ''Jinding''), situated at the top of Tianzhu Peak (1612m), is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Wudangshan. It was built in 1416 during the Ming dynasty. According to local histories, the hall was forged in ...

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall ( sv, Stockholms stadshus, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands ...

completed in 1923.

Early life

Born in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

, Forseth was the son of the Norwegian lithographer Ole Andreas Forseth. He was raised in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

where his father ran a lithographic business. In 1905 the family moved to

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 ...

where he attended the Arts and Crafts School (Slöjdföreningens Skola) studying under

Gunnar Hallström Hans Gunnar Fredrik Hallström (5 January 1910 – 29 June 1989) was a Swedish trade unionist and politician. Hallström joined the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League in 1927, remaining active in it until 1936. He then became leader of th ...

, Anders Trulsson and

Charles Lindholm Charles Lindholm (born 1946) is the University Professor of Anthropology at Boston University. He is the author of nine books and over seventy articles and reviews. His writings have been translated into Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, Arabic, and Port ...

. He completed his education 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 ...

in Stockholm (1912-1915) under

Olle Hjortzberg Gustaf Olof (Olle) Hjortzberg (14 November 1872 – 8 March 1959) was a Swedish painter and illustrator. He is remembered above all for contributing to the revival of wall paintings in Swedish churches. Biography Born in Stockholm, Hjortzberg w ...

and

Oscar Björck Oscar Gustaf Björck (15 January 1860 – 5 December 1929) was a Swedish painter and a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Biography Born in Stockholm, from 1877 to 1882, Björck was a student of Edvard Perséus at the Academy where his ...

Biography

During his travels to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, he developed an interest in monumental and decorative art which extended to frescos, textiles and oil paintings. From 1921 to 1923 he decorated the Golden Hall in Stockholm's City Hall with mosaics in the Byzantine style, creating the Mälar Queen as the central figure. Examples of his stained glass creations can be seen in St Mary's Church,

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

(1937), Sankt Nicolai,

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...

(1937), St Peter and St Sigfrid's Church, Stockholm, and

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

, for which he also created floor mosaics in 1962. He also contributed designs to

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40 000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidköpin ...

's porcelain factory. He was awarded the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal ( sv, Prins Eugen-medaljen) is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthd ...

in 1963.

References

Literature

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forseth, Einar 1892 births 1988 deaths Swedish textile artists Swedish ceramists Swedish illustrators Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal 20th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters 20th-century ceramists 20th-century Swedish male artists