Jonas Wallström, born Andersson (6 April 179826 April 1862) was a Swedish

decorative painter A house painter and decorator is a tradesperson responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator, or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is t ...

. He is known for the use of

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object. The holes allow the pigment to reach only some parts of the surface creatin ...

s to create elaborate patterns and for decorating the interiors of

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Gästgivars Gästgivars is a Swedish farm in the Bollnäs Municipality and the province of Hälsingland. It is one of the seven Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, decorated farms of Hälsingland which are collectively recognised by UNESCO as a World Herita ...

in Vallsta,

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...

Biography

Wallström was born in Vallsta village in

. He was the son of soldier and lumberjack Anders Krok (1768–1837) and Greta Jonsdotter (1770–1853), and the second oldest among four children. Between 1814 and 1821 he lived in

Hudiksvall Hudiksvall () is a cities of Sweden, city and the seat of Hudiksvall Municipality, in Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 16,792 inhabitants as of 2024. Hudiksvall is also known as Glada Hudik (), a term that originated in the 19th centur ...

while working as a

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

of master painter Anders Winberg. He would later move back to Vallsta. At some point during or after his apprenticeship he adopted the surname Wallström after his home village. He continued his studies as a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

at Gustaf Söderbergs workshop in Stockholm between 1823 and 1831. Wallström is also believed to have studied under Carl Fredric Torsselius, a renowned designer of wallpapers. In the 1830s he returned to Vallsta once more and popularised the elaborate use of stencils for decorative painting in the region. Wallström would throughout his career remain a journeyman. Wallström married Karin Jonsdotter from Hudiksvall in 1831. They had five daughters together. He was a close friend of painter Olof Hofrén who was appointed godfather to one of Wallströms daughters. Wallström passed away at home in Arbrå socken 26 April 1862, at the age of 64.

Works

Wallström has painted several farmhouses in the central part of the

Ljusnan Ljusnan (from Old Norse: ''Lusn'' — light) is a river in Sweden, which is 440 kilometers long. The river starts in northwestern Härjedalen and then continues throughout the province into Hälsingland all the way to the Bothnian Sea. The bigge ...

valley, mostly in the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Bollnäs Bollnäs () is a Swedish locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, in Gävleborg County, Sweden. It has about 14,000 inhabitants.https://bollnas.se/kommun-och-politik/kommunfakta History The first recording of Bollnäs in writing is fro ...

and

Arbrå Arbrå () is the second largest locality in Bollnäs Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 2,215 inhabitants in 2010. Points of interest * Arbråmasten, a 331 metres tall guyed TV mast. Notable people * Gösta "Snoddas" Nordgren, s ...

. Some of his works were signed, while others have been attributed to Wallström based on their style, including choice of motif and colours. His works are of various natures, a few pieces of furniture and paintings, but mostly complete interiors. The use of painted golden frames,

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s and other ornaments in

empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

is prominent. The painted motifs that the ornaments frame are usually

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

or romantic landscapes. It is likely that he used german catalogues as inspiration or models. The painted interiors of

in Vallsta are well preserved examples of Wallströms skill. A printed version of his "Gästgivars-wallpaper" was launched by Duro Sweden during the 1960s. The landscapes in the great hall are believed to have been drawn or copied from an unknown source. File:Väggmålning stora salen Gästgivars.jpg, The great hall at

File:Schablonmålning på Gästgivars.jpg, Close up of the "Gästgivars-wallpaper" File:Överstycke_Gästgivars.jpg, Close up of ornamentations at Gästgivars Other works attributed to Wallström are exhibited at Hälsinglands museum, Renshammar in

, Wallins in Växbo, Lars-Pers in Hov, Träslottet in Koldemo and Arbrå Fornhem. Though whether Wallström actually painted at Träslottet has been questioned. At Wallins he restored decorative painting performed by Paul Hallberg and completed a few works of his own in other rooms on the lower floor. He initiated work on the altar piece of Norrbo church in 1838, but had to give up due to failing health, after which the altar piece was completed by Albert Blombergsson. As the tradition of Helsingian painting was degenerating Wallström gradually shifted his work to paintings. A few of these paintings from the early 1860s have been preserved.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallström, Jonas 1798 births 1862 deaths 19th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters 19th-century Swedish male artists People from Bollnäs Municipality Artists from Gävleborg County