Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - First part - IV. Education and Mental Culture - 9. The Fine Arts - Painting, by Prof. C. R. Nyblom, Ph. D., Stockholm
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
PAINTING.
421
Fainting.
In Sweden, just as everywhere else, the first attempts in the art of painting
appeared in connection with architecture, whose works were adorned with
paintings of a decorative kind. As we have seen, this was also the case with
sculpture; but the productions of this art were, naturally enough, met with more rarely
than those of painting, in consequence of their requiring more work and being
more expensive than the latter. If a church was built of natural stone, painting
was rather out of question, except for the windows, and there plastic
ornamentation proved more to the purpose. If again the church was constructed of brick
and the walls were plastered inside, it became a matter of course to decorate these
plastered walls with colour, for white-wash never occurred till the 17th century
when the old paintings were washed over. And just as natural it seemed not to
make use of ornaments alone, but also of representations of figures, the contents
of which were biblical or allegorical, at times mixed up with the creations of
popular fancy. This was, for instance, the case in the archbishopric at the end
of the 15th century when under the sway of Archbishop Jakob Ulfsson, for then
verv nearly every church in Uppland and the districts north of this province was
decked out with figure-decorations, which in our days, at many places, have been
discovered and called forth. If the church was built of wood, as was the case in
neighbourhoods abounding in forest but otherwise poor, it proves of still greater
necessity to paint the inside while shingling the outside. Thus, for instance, the
church of Råda in Vermland (from about 1320) has both the chancel and nave
decorated with excellent figures. This was also the case with the church of
Vrigstad in Småland (pulled down in 1865). Gotland was particularly rich in stained
windows with biblical figures, of which decoration much still remains. As an example
may be mentioned the beautiful Dalhem church near Visby. All these images are of
historical value as regards culture, though artistically they may not be worth much.
In their primitive innocence, they are, however, always touching evidences of a pious
mood and a zeal to make the house of God pleasant for the congregation. Besides,
here the details are not of so great a signification as the entirety, not the smallest
part of roof or vault, walls or windows generally having been left untouched by the
desire to ennoble the construction by means of form and colour. In that respect, the
ornaments and the choice of colours, as a rule, prove of a most predominant interest.
Jakob Ulfsson died in 1521, and as long as he lived, the decoration of the
churches was, no doubt, carried on in the same way as before, and much the same
kind of painting was employed in palaces and other dwelling-houses, although
with some change of the subjects when concerning profane purposes. With the
accession of King Gustavus Vasa (1523/60) and the beginning predominance of
the Vasa style in all the new palaces, a decided change of style ensued also in
the art of painting. The sleeping-chamber of Erik XIV in Kalmar Castle gives
an idea both about the decoration and the painting. The former is »intarsia»,
both for the ornamentation — which, like the whole room, is in the Renaissance
style — and for the inlaid landscapes. The painting is represented by the large
frieze above the wainscot, where you see a wild-boar hunt modeled in plaster
and painted in natural colours. Also the old parts of Gripsholm Castle, where
the ancient painting is retained; above all, in the bed-chamber of Duke Charles
(»prison of Johan III») — give an idea about the taste of that period.
From the time of Gustavus Vasa inclusive, portraits of Swedish men and
women begin to occur, but always, as far as is known, executed by foreign painters
— Germans or Dutchmen. Gustavus is known to have been in communication
with Master Jan van Scorel of the old Dutch school. Portraits exist of the King
himself (1542) and of his sister Margareta (Gripsholm and Uppsala). But it was
not till the 17th century that painters of distinction appeared in our country.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
