Oscar Gustaf Björck (15 January 1860 – 5 December 1929) was a Swedish painter and a professor at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

Biography

Born in Stockholm, from 1877 to 1882, Björck was a student of Edvard Perséus at the Academy where his paintings included ''Loke fängslas af asarne'' (

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

imprisoned by

Æsir Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...

) (1880), ''Gustaf Vasa inför kung Hans'' (Gustaf Vasa before King Hans) (1881) and ''Den förlorade sonens återkomst'' ( Return of the prodigal son) (1882) which was awarded the Royal Medal. In 1883, Björck was awarded a travel scholarship. He spent the winter of 1883–84 in Paris. The following winter, he went to Munich where he painted a few portraits, including a full-length painting of his wife. In the spring of 1885, he moved to Venice and, in the autumn, to Rome where he painted the large portrait of ''Susanna'' (

Gothenburg Museum of Art Gothenburg Museum of Art () is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third-largest art museum in Sweden by the size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collection of late 19th-cen ...

) and ''Romerska smeder'' (Roman blacksmiths) ( Washington National Gallery of Art, Washington). In 1887, he completed a number of paintings including the ''Veneziansk saluhall'' (Venetian hall) (

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

of Sweden), and ''Lördagsmässa i Markuskyrkan'' (Saturday Mass in St. Mark's Church). After summer stays at

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

in Denmark in 1882, 1883 and 1884, he finally settled in Stockholm in 1888 where he concentrated on portraits. These include several of King Oscar (among them one at

Skokloster Castle Skokloster Castle () is a Swedish Baroque castle built between 1654 and 1676 by Carl Gustaf Wrangel, located on a peninsula of Lake Mälaren between Stockholm and Uppsala. It became a state museum in the 1970s and displays collections of paintings ...

, a full-length at

Drottningholm Palace Drottningholm Palace (), or Drottningholm, one of Sweden's royal palaces, situated near Sweden's capital Stockholm, is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Located on Lovön island in Stockholm County's Ekerö Municipalit ...

, one with crown and mantle in

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...

, and one which was acquired by the German emperor. He also painted ''Prins Eugen vid staffliet'' ( Prince Eugen at the easel) (Nationamuseum, 1895); '' Crown Prince Gustaf'' (Stockholm Palace, 1900), ''The Artist's Wife'' (full-length, 1891, Gothenburg Museum) and Baron (Royal Academy, 1892). In addition, he completed a few landscapes, a couple of genres and various decorative paintings. From 1889, he was a member of the Academy and its teaching staff and in 1898, he became a professor. Björck was Commissar for Art at the Stockholm Exposition in 1897, for the

Baltic Exhibition The Baltic Exhibition () was held in Malmö, Sweden from 15 May to 4 October 1914. (The official closing date, September 30, was later extended by four days, as permitted in the general rules.) A Swedish world's fair The event showcased the indust ...

in 1914 and for the Swedish exhibition in London in 1924. Björck's earliest portraits were influenced by

Georg von Rosen Johan Georg Otto von Rosen (13 February 1843 – 3 March 1923) was a Swedish painter and ''greve'' (count). He specialized in history paintings and portraits, done in the Academic style. Biography He was born in Paris. When he was barely five ...

and his pictures from Skagen reflected the influence of Danish artists, especially

Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer (; 23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909), also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter. Life Growing up and early training Krøyer was born in Stavanger, Norway, on 23 July 1851 to a single mother, Ellen Cecilie Gjes ...

. In many of his characteristic works, he depicted the Swedish middle class of his times.

Summers in Skagen

Björck was encouraged to go to Skagen in 1882 by P.S. Krøyer whom he had met in Paris and for whom he showed great admiration. He immediately became attached to the artists' community there, especially

Michael Ancher Michael Peter Ancher (9 June 1849 – 19 September 1927) was a Danish Realism (art movement), realist artist, widely known for his paintings of fishermen, the Skagerak and the North Sea, and other scenes from the Danish fishing community in Skag ...

, his wife

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

and

Holger Drachmann Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann (9 October 1846 – 14 January 1908) was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen Painters, Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movem ...

. It was not just the Skagen landscape that attracted him but equally the warmth and hospitality of the artists themselves. Björck spent several summers there, completing some of his best paintings under the influence of Krøyer and the French Naturalism movement.Karl Madsen, "Skagens Malere og Skagens Museum", Copenhagen 1929, p. 103. Oscar Björck (with a hat) can be seen drinking champagne in Krøyer's famous painting

Hip, Hip, Hurrah! ''Hip, Hip, Hurrah!'' (Danish: ''Hip, hip, hurra! Kunstnerfest på Skagen,'' ) is an oil-on-canvas painting from 1888 by Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer. Description The work shows various members of the Skagen Painters: a group of Danish ...

(1888) which shows several of the Skagen Painters celebrating in the Anchers' garden.

Gallery

File:Björck Et Nødskud.jpg, ''Signal of Distress'' (1883) File:Oscar Björck - Självporträtt.jpg, ''Self portrait'' (1903) File:Oscar Björck - Kvinnoporträtt.jpg, ''Portrait of a Woman'' File:Oscar Björck - Parklandskap.jpg, ''Park landscape'' File:Oscar Björck - P.S. Krøyer - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of P.S. Krøyer'' File:Oscar Björck Portrait of Ernest Thiel Thielska 62.tif, ''Portrait of Ernest Thiel'', 1900,

Thiel Gallery The Thiel Gallery () is an art museum in the Djurgården park area of Stockholm, Sweden. Represented are the members of the Artists Association (''Konstnärsförbundet'') from the early 1900s as well as one of the world's largest collections of ...

File:Oscar Björck Portrait of Mrs. Alice Thiel Thielska 62b.tiff, ''Portrait of Alice Sachs'', 1909,

References

*''Nordisk familjebok'', Björck, Oscar, 1904-1926 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorck, Oscar 1860 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Swedish painters 19th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters 20th-century Swedish painters 20th-century Swedish male artists Skagen Painters Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts Painters from Stockholm

Biography

Summers in Skagen

Gallery

See also

References