Gustaf Lundberg (17 August 1695 – 18 March 1786) was a Swedish rococo pastelist and portrait painter. He trained and worked in

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 ...

and later was appointed court portrait painter in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Biography

Lundberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, son of royal chef Gustaf Lundberg and his wife Sabina Richter, whose family included successful artists. Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by his grandfather, Fredrik Richter, who was a goldsmith. Lundberg was later apprenticed to German-Swedish painter David von Krafft (1655–1724) in 1712. In 1717, Lundberg traveled to Paris, where he studied with

Hyacinthe Rigaud Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the French nobility. Biography Rigaud ...

(1659-1743),

Nicolas de Largillière Nicolas de Largillière (; 10 October 1656 – 20 March 1746) was a French portrait painter, born in Paris. Biography Early life Largillière's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in ...

(1656-1746) and

Jean François de Troy Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

(1679-1752). The determining influence was the Venetian painter

Rosalba Carriera Rosalba Carriera (12 January 1673 – 15 April 1757) was a Venetian Rococo painter. In her younger years, she specialized in portrait miniatures. Carriera would later become known for her pastel portraits, helping popularize the medium in eighte ...

(1675-1757), who lived in Paris from 1720 to 1721. Afterwards, Lundberg established himself as one of the leading portrait painters in Paris. He painted

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

and his Queen

Maria Leszczyńska Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

, and the Queen's parents,

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...

King

Stanisław Leszczyński Stanisław I Leszczyński (; lt, Stanislovas Leščinskis; french: Stanislas Leszczynski; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at v ...

and his spouse, and gave Stanislaus pastel painting lessons. He portrayed many of the Swedes visiting Paris, and befriended Count

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...

(1695-1770)— Swedish ambassador, art collector and member of the famous family of architects, who let him stay in his palace. In addition to his many portraits of French and Swedish

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

, he is known for his paintings of colleagues, French Rococo artists

Charles-Joseph Natoire Charles-Joseph Natoire (3 March 1700 – 23 August 1777) was a French painter in the Rococo manner, a pupil of François Lemoyne and director of the French Academy in Rome, 1751–1775. Considered during his lifetime the equal of François Bouc ...

(1700-1777) and

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

(1703-1770). In 1741, Lundberg was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture (''

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abol ...

''). But his popularity started to wane soon after, a result of new pastelists representing a more realistic style than his. During 1745 he traveled through

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, stopping in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

to paint Louis XV's daughter Louise-Élisabeth, who was married to

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, the son of King

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

. He returned to Sweden in the autumn of 1745. An already successful artist, he quickly established himself as the leading

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

painter in Sweden. Thanks to his friendship with Carl Gustaf Tessin, he was soon introduced at the

Royal Court of Sweden The Royal Court of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga Hovstaterna) is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch, and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court. The Royal ...

. Lundberg's light and elegant style was a break from the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style of portraiture that had previously predominated. In 1750, he was appointed court portrait painter (''hovkonterfejare''). He painted many portraits of the Crown Prince, later King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

. Towards the end of his career, he painted a portrait of the young Crown Prince Gustav Adolf in 1779. He died in Stockholm during 1786 and was buried at Uppsala gamla kyrkogård.

Gallery

File:Gustaf Lundberg-Marie Anne de Bourbon Condé.jpg, Marie-Anne de Bourbon-Condé (1697–1741) Copy, oil on canvas after

Jean-Baptiste Santerre Jean-Baptiste Santerre (23 March 1651 – 21 November 1717) was a French painter and draughtsman of the Style Louis XIV, known for his history paintings, portraits, and portrait-like Genre painting, genre subjects. Considerably influenced by Ital ...

1720.136x104 cm. Sold by Nordén Auktioner 11 May 1992 for 60.000 SEK File:Gustaf_Lundberg,_Louis_XV_(fin_des_années_1730).jpg, Portrait of

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, end of the 1730s. Pastel copy. File:Boucher_par_Gustav_Lundberg_1741.jpg, Portrait of the artist

, for the French academy 1741. Pastel. File:Charles-Joseph Natoire.jpg, Portrait of the artist

(1700–1777), for the French academy 1741. Pastel. File:Lovisa Ulrika by Lundberg.png, Queen

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ( sv, Lovisa Ulrika; german: Luise Ulrike) (24 July 1720 – 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771 as the wife of King Adolf Frederick. She was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III. Backgr ...

as crown princess. Pastel 1745–46. File:Gustaf Lundberg - Portrait of Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden - WGA13779.jpg, Portrait of

Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

. Pastel, about 1750. File:GustavIIIsombarnxx.JPG, King

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

as child. Pastel, about 1750. File:Gustaf Lundberg-Porträtt av Juliana Dorotea Henck.jpg, Portrait of Juliana Dorotea Henck married Schröder (1733–1792). Pastel, 1750s File:Gustaf Lundberg-Portrait of Henning Adolf Gyllenborg.jpg, Portrait of count Henning Adolf Gyllenborg (1713–1775). Pastel 1750s. File:Gustaf_Lundberg_-_Herman_Petersen.jpg, Portrait of Herman Petersen (1713–1765). Pastel, around 1760. File:Gustaf Lundberg-Portrait of Count Carl Gustaf Tessin.jpg, Portrait of Count

(1695–1770). Pastel, 1760. File:Adolphe badin lundberg.jpg, Adolf Ludvig Gustav Fredrik Albert Couchi (

Gustav Badin Adolf Ludvig Gustav Fredrik Albert Badin né ''Couchi'', known as Badin (1747 or 1750 – 1822) was a Swedish court servant (Kammermohr) and diarist. Originally a slave, he was the foster son and servant of Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden and a ...

) 1747?–1822. Pastel, 1775. File:Barn. Porträtt. Nils Brahe - Skoklosters slott - 39362.tif, Child, Nils Brahe, 1750s. File:Barn. Porträtt. Per Brahe - Skoklosters slott - 30802.tif, Child, Per Brahe from 1747 until 1749.

References

Other Sources

*Merit Laine, Carolina Brown (2006) ''Gustaf Lundberg 1695-1786'' (Nationalmusei skriftserie)

External links

Gustaf Lundberg
Stockholms Auktionsverk {{DEFAULTSORT:Lundberg, Gustaf 1695 births 1786 deaths Artists from Stockholm 18th-century Swedish painters 18th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters Burials at Uppsala old cemetery