Victor Forssell

Last updated
Victor Forssell, from the Svenskt Portrattgalleri XX Victor Reinhold Forssell - from Svenskt Portrattgalleri XX.png
Victor Forssell, from the Svenskt Porträttgalleri XX
Young Boy with a Herd of Goats (1917) Goats-Forssell.jpg
Young Boy with a Herd of Goats (1917)

Victor Reinhold Forssell (19 June 1846 - 16 August 1931) was a Swedish landscape, animal and genre painter. [1]

Contents

Biography

Forssell was born at Sala in Västmanland County, Sweden. He was born out of wedlock to Beata Forssell, the daughter of a local miller. His father was generally believed to be a silver miner. He attended school in Sala from 1855 to 1861 and apparently had some art lessons during that time. In 1865, he was accepted as a student at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. There, he studied with the landscape painters Edward Bergh and Per Daniel Holm. [2]

In 1877, unable to obtain a scholarship, he set off on a study trip at his own expense, beginning with Düsseldorf followed by Paris, London and Antwerp. [3]

After returning home, he continued to travel, spending several summers on the island of Gotland with his friend and fellow landscape painter, Per Ekström. In 1887, he became a member of the Royal Academy. In the 1890s, he undertook a lengthy visit to Denmark, Norway and England. His mother, with whom he had been living, died in 1897. Seeking spiritual solace, he turned to the teachings of Helena Blavatsky and embraced the pantheistic worldview of Theosophy, which influenced his approach to his choice of subjects for painting. [4] [5]

In 1902, he was awarded a contract by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to teach painting animals in a landscape (djurplacering i landskapen). The class was taught outdoors in several locations around Stockholm. By 1912, the money he had saved enabled him to buy a small estate, Stora Sickla gård, at Sicklaö parish in Nacka. [6]

After the chaos of World War I had settled, he found himself virtually forgotten. Sometime in the early 1920s, he suffered a serious fall which left him unable to walk without crutches. He was eventually awarded a disability pension by the Academy and moved to Solsunda sanatorium at Skurusundet in Nacka municipality where he died in 1931, aged eighty-five. [7]

Related Research Articles

Ernst Josephson Swedish painter and poet (1851–1906)

Ernst Abraham Josephson (1851-1906) was a Swedish painter and poet. He specialized in portraits, genre scenes of folklife and folklore.

Christian Eric Fahlcrantz

Christian Eric Fahlcrantz Swedish theologian and author.

Jonas Hesselman Swedish engineer

Jonas Hesselman was a Swedish engineer. He built the first spark ignition engine with direct injection of fuel into the cylinder.

Karl Nordström Swedish painter (1855–1923)

Karl Fredrik Nordström was a Swedish painter who specialized in landscapes. From 1896 to 1920, he was Chairman of the Association of Artists (Konstnärsförbundet).

Richard Bergh

Sven Richard Bergh (1858–1919) was a Swedish painter, art critic and museum manager. Despite many years in France, he remained unattracted to Impressionism, preferring instead the Naturalism of painters such as Jules Bastien-Lepage. He also rejected the idea of creating landscapes en plein aire.

Carl Trägårdh Swedish painter (1861–1899)

Carl Ludvig Trägårdh was a Swedish painter.

Per Ekström

Per Ekström, also Pehr or Peter was a Swedish landscape painter, known for his atmospheric scenes with sunsets, in barren or deserted places.

Anna Gardell-Ericson Swedish artist (1853–1939)

Anna Maria Gardell-Ericson was a Swedish painter and watercolorist. She specialized in coastal scenes and landscapes with lakes or rivers.

Carl Johan Fahlcrantz Swedish painter (1774–1861)

Carl Johan Fahlcrantz was a Swedish painter.

Wilhelm von Gegerfelt Swedish painter

Wilhelm von Gegerfelt, also Vilhelm von Gegerfelt, was a Swedish painter.

Ferdinand Fagerlin

Ferdinand Julius Fagerlin was a Swedish-German genre painter.

Peter Adolf Persson

Peter Adolf Persson was a Swedish painter known for his Skåne landscapes.

Anna Munthe-Norstedt Swedish painter (1854–1936)

Anna Katarina Fredrika Munthe-Norstedt was a Swedish painter known for still-lifes and interiors. She also worked with genre painting and portraits.

Edward Bergh

Johan Edward Bergh was a Swedish jurist and landscape painter, associated with the Düsseldorf School.

Anton Genberg

Anton Jonsson Genberg was a Swedish painter in the Naturalist style who specialized in mountain landscapes.

Gottfrid Kallstenius Swedish painter (1861–1943)

Gottfrid Samuel Nikolaus Kallstenius was a Swedish painter.

Per Daniel Holm Swedish painter (1835–1903)

Per Daniel Holm was a Swedish landscape painter.

James Fairman

James Fairman was a Scottish-born American landscape painter, art teacher, art critic and military officer.

Emil Schultz-Riga was a Baltic Germans-Russian landscape painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting. He also worked with portraits and floral still lifes.

Willy Hamacher German painter (1865–1909)

Willy Hamacher was a German landscape and marine painter.

References

  1. Viggo Loos. "Victor R Forssell". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  2. Jonas Gavel. "P Daniel Holm". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  3. Bettina Baumgärtel, Sabine Schroyen, Lydia Immerheiser, Sabine Teichgröb: Verzeichnis der ausländischen Künstler und Künstlerinnen. Nationalität, Aufenthalt und Studium in Düsseldorf. In Bettina Baumgärtel (ed.): Die Düsseldorfer Malerschule und ihre internationale Ausstrahlung 1819–1918. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2011, ISBN   978-3-86568-702-9, Band 1, S. 430
  4. "Theosophy and The Theosophical Society". Theosophical Society in Australia. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  5. Manne Hofrén. "Per (Peter, Pehr) Ekström". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  6. "Stora Sickla gård". Platser. 17 December 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  7. "Om Solsunda". Solsunda. Retrieved April 1, 2019.

Further reading