Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Education and Mental Culture. Introd. by P. E. Lindström - 10. Fine Arts - Sculpture. By [C. R. Nyblom] Carl G. Laurin - Painting. By [C. R. Nyblom] Carl G. Laurin
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48(5
iv. education and mental culture.
Saltsjöbaden church are among the works that this original artist has already
given to the world. 0. J. Eldh (born 1873) has studied in France and has
executed a large number of delightful small pieces, amongst which may be
mentioned Youth, a group, and the statue of a Young Girl, both of which are
in the National Museum. These works and the high relief, Reading, in the
Kungsholms realskola, Stockholm, betray a genius for reproducing the female
form uncommon in Sweden. David Edström (born 1873), apart from many
fantastic and unfinished sketches, has produced a great deal of portrait-sculpture,
excellent both from the point of view of psychology and of form. Otto
Strand-man (born 1871) shows uncommon skill and taste, not least in his small pieces
in wood, bronze, or silver. Herman Neujd (born 1872) does good work in his
small pieces, and Aron Jerndahl (born 1858), going to the world of labour for
his subjects, depicts the life of the workman in his sculptures. O. Fagerberg
(born 1878) depicts Swedish sporting life in pieces of great merit. Finally,
Mrs Agnes Kjellberg-Frumerie (born 1869) and Alice Nordin (born 1871) are
among the first women in Sweden to devote themselve with success to sculpture.
Painting»
In Sweden, as everywhere else, the first attempts in the art of painting are
found in association with architecture, for buildings were adorned with paintings of
a decorative nature. As we have seen, this was also the case with sculpture;
but sculptural decoration was, naturally enough, more rarely met with than
painting, because it required more work and was more expensive. If a church
was built of natural stone, painting was rather out of the question, except for
the windows. If, again, the church was constructed of brick with internal
plastering, it became a matter of course to decorate these plastered walls with
colour, for white-wash is not met with till the 17th century, when the old
paintings were washed over. And it seemed just as hatural not to make use
only of ornamentation, but also of representations of figures illustrating biblical
or allegorical subjects; at times the creations of popular fancy were depicted.
This was, for instance, the case in the archbishop’s diocese at the end of the
15th century, in the time of Archbishop Jakob Ulfsson when very nearly every
church in Uppland and in districts north of it was embellished with
figure-decorations, which have in recent times been uncovered and restored in many
places. If the church was built of wood, as was the case in neighbourhoods
wealthy in forests but otherwise poor, it was still more necessary to paint the
interior and shingle it externally. Thus, for instance, the church of Råda, in
Värmland, (about 1320) has both the chancel and nave decorated with splendidly
executed figures. This was also the case with the church of Vrigstad, in
Småland, (pulled down in 1865). Gottland particularly had an abundance of stained
windows with biblical figures, of which many are still preserved in many places.
An example may be adduced in the beautiful church of Dalhem, near Visby.
AH these pictures are of value as regards the history of culture, though
artistically they may sometimes be worth little. Their primitive innocence, however,
is always touching evidence of a pious devotion and a zeal to make the house
of God attractive to the congregation. Besides, it is not so much the details that
are of so great significance as the entire building, for as a rule not the smallest
part of roof or vault, walls or windows were left unaffected by the desire to
ennoble the structure by means of form and colour. And such being the case,
the choice of ornamentation and colours are generally of predominant interest.
Jakob Ulfsson died in 1521, but, as long as he lived, the decoration of the
churches was, no doubt, carried on in the same way as before, and much the
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