WORKS ON PAPER

Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946)

Snow-Laden Trees

Ink and watercolor with black framing lines on cardboard
signed BOBERG.
18 x 13 cm (approx. 7.1 x 5.1 in)
frame: 40.5 x 35 cm (approx. 15.9 x 13.8 in)

Ferdinand Boberg was one of Sweden’s foremost architects around the turn of the twentieth century, responsible for iconic buildings such as the Central Post Office, Nordiska Kompaniet, and Rosenbad. After retiring from architecture in 1915, he turned increasingly to art. Together with his wife, the artist Anna Boberg, he travelled extensively throughout Sweden, producing thousands of drawings and watercolors that documented both urban environments and rural landscapes. Many of these works were later published in the celebrated series Svenska bilder (Swedish Images).

In Snow-Laden Trees, Boberg captures the serene atmosphere of a Swedish winter. Heavy snow rests on trees along the water’s edge, their reflections shimmering on the dark surface below. Subtle washes of blue and violet convey the crisp air and stillness of the scene, while touches of earthy brown bring warmth to the otherwise cool palette.

The composition reflects Boberg’s dual sensibility: the structural precision of an architect combined with the poetic vision of an artist. Works like this reveal how Boberg’s legacy extends beyond architecture, preserving Sweden’s landscapes with the same sensitivity and clarity that defined his buildings.

Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946) Sweden

Winter Landscape with Jetty beside a Frozen Waterway

Ink and watercolor with black framing lines on cardboard
21.5 x 17.1 cm (8.5 x 6.7 in.)
framed 30 x 35 cm (11 ¾ x 13 ¾ in.)

Essay: 
This finely composed winter scene by Ferdinand Boberg captures the serene beauty of a snow-covered Swedish landscape. A jetty projects into a frozen waterway, its dark form contrasting against the bright, unbroken surface of ice and snow. The surrounding slopes, soft with drifting snow, are rendered with Boberg’s characteristically sensitive line and delicate washes of blue and grey.

Best known as one of Sweden’s foremost architects, Boberg also created a remarkable body of drawings and watercolors in which he preserved the atmosphere of his country’s landscapes and city views. In this work he demonstrates his gift for distilling a wintry motif into a composition that is at once precise and poetic, transforming a simple lakeside scene into a timeless evocation of Scandinavian winter.  

Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946)

View from Strandvägen towards Djurgården, Stockholm

Watercolor on paper
signed BOBERG - STOCKHOLM -
c. 16 x 22 cm (6 ¼ x 8 ¾ in)
framed 33 x 38 cm (13 x 15 in)

Essay:
This delicate watercolor by Ferdinand Boberg captures a tranquil winter view across the water from Strandvägen towards Djurgården in Stockholm. The composition is anchored by the unmistakable silhouette of the Nordiska Museet rising above the trees, a landmark that places the scene firmly within the city’s cultural heart.

Boberg’s talent as both architect and artist is evident in the precision of the architectural details and the sensitivity with which he renders the soft blanket of snow. The muted palette of pale blues, greys and whites evokes the quiet stillness of a Stockholm winter, while the small boat in the foreground adds a touch of intimacy and life to the frozen scene.

As one of Sweden’s foremost architects, Boberg helped shape the modern face of Stockholm, but it was through his drawings and watercolors that he preserved the city’s atmosphere with such lyrical charm. This work is a fine example of his ability to merge architectural observation with artistic sensibility, offering both a document of place and a poetic interpretation of Stockholm in winter.

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815–1875) Sweden

Resting Dromedar, 1861

watercolour heightened with white
unframed 21 x 29.2 cm (8 ¼ x 11 ½ in.)
framed 40 x 48 cm (15 ¾ x 18 ⅞ in.)

Provenance:
Sale, Stockholm, Bukowskis, 12 December 1894, lot 42;
Signe and Ernst Trygger (1857–1943), Villa Trygger, Stockholm. Ernst Trygger was Swedish Prime Minister (1923–24), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1928–30) and University Chancellor (1926–37);  A Swedish private collection. 

Literature:
Förteckning på oljemålningar, aquareller och handteckningar m.m. av Egron Lundgren utställda i Akademien för de fria konsterna, 1876, no. 259.
Karl Asplund, Egron Lundgren, Vol. II, 1940, p. 40, note 1, p. 166.

Exhibited:
The Royal Academy, Egron Lundgren, 10 April 1876, no. 259.
Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening, Memorial Exhibition, February 1915, no. 70, Hvilande kameler (owner Ernst Trygger).
The Royal Academy, Svenska Akvareller (Swedish Watercolor Exhibition), 1925, no. 224, Vilande kameler (owner Signe Trygger).

Essay:
This delicate watercolour, executed during Lundgren’s first journey to Egypt in the winter of 1861–62, depicts a resting dromedary in the shade at Giza. Painted in transparent washes with touches of white gouache, the work captures the intense desert light and atmosphere with a remarkable immediacy. The reclining animal dominates the composition, rendered in warm ochres and browns against a cool, shadowy background, while highlights on its saddle and coat give the scene a subtle radiance. The quiet stillness of the subject reflects Lundgren’s sensitivity to the everyday motifs of the Orient, which he observed and painted directly on site.

Lundgren travelled to Egypt in the company of two British artists, Frank Dillon (1823-1909) and George Price Boyce (1926-1897). They initially rented a house by the Nile in the village of Giza, living in what Lundgren described as “oriental style,” before moving on to Cairo in January 1862. From there, they explored and painted the surrounding landscape, monuments, and urban life. The presence of camels and dromedaries in daily scenes around the Nile provided him with natural subjects for study. This watercolour likely belongs to that body of work, in which Lundgren combined sharp observation with a painterly freshness, setting him apart from the more academic studio-bound orientalists of his time.

On 15th January Lundgren wrote from Kairo (G. Nordensvan, Egron Lundgren, Reseskildringar, anteckningar och bref, 1905, p. 248):

”Vårt fattiga lilla Gizeh med sina lerhus och palmer, tält och kameler snarare hviskar ännu om patriarkernas tidsålder och tycks vara så gammalt som Genesis. Glittrar den breda Nilen ännu såsom när Moses stod på dess strand, och i stilla kvällen, när fårskockar och getter, lägra sig nere vid vattenbrynet, sitta de trötta herdarna i aftonsolen så bruna som om de var var porfyrstoder, nyss uppgrävda från något underjordiskt tempel. Här flyger Ibis ännu över de tysta vattendragen  i palmskogarna, och om natten går månen upp på den underligt klara stjärnhimmeln och tyckes liksom söka sin gamla Isis-dyrkan. De mysteriösa, uråldriga pyramiderna stodo hvar morgon där spöklika, gåtlika med den tomma öknen bakom sig, och det var därföre icke att undra på om dagen blev full af drömmar om långt förflutna tider.” (“Our poor little Giza with its mud houses and palm trees, tents and camels rather still whispers of the age of the patriarchs and seems to be as old as Genesis. Does the wide Nile still glitter as when Moses stood on its banks?, and in the still evening, when sheepherds and goats, camp down by the water's edge, the weary shepherds sit in the evening sun as brown as if they were pillars of porphyry, just dug up from some subterranean temple. Here the ibis still flies over the quiet watercourses in the palm groves, and at night the moon rises in the strangely clear starry sky and seems to seek her old worship of Isis. The mysterious, ancient pyramids stood every morning ghostly, enigmatic with the empty desert behind them, and it was therefore no wonder if the day became full of dreams of times long past.”

In En målares anteckningar (A Painters diary), Vol. III, 1873, Lundgren writes in details about his stay in Egypt. His description of the house they rented in Gizeh is of great interest since it shows that foreign artists lived a most comfortable life when they visited the orient, also remote parts (p. 12):

”Vi tåga in och taga i besittning ett stort stenhus, som tillhörde Fuad el Pascha. Nilen sqvalpade upp mot ena sidan så att vi hade kunnat meta från fönsterna. Huset var för övrigt alldeles tomt,  så att vi måste från Cairo låta hämta husgeråd, sängkläder, betjening, en kock med tillbehör och mycket, som icke omtalas i tusen och en natt, men som ändock är svårt att undvara. Det blev också nödvändigt att skaffa oss ett slags österländsk klädebonad för att kunna vara mer ogenerade, och såsom skydd mot solhettan lindades turbaner omkring hattarna; min var broderad med gult silke, som lyste likt guld. Vi redo på små smalbenta borickor [åsnor]  med granna utstickande marokindsadlar, och var och en hade sin löpare efter sig. /Vårt hus låg , som sagt, alldeles ned vid  flodbrädden och över porten hängde, enligt bruket i Egypten, skinnet af en stor krokodil, vilket tros, om icke medföra lycka åtminstone skrämma bort mycket ont och vara en talisman emot all slags förtrollning. Vi hade en portfaktare, Mahommed,  en gammal gråskäggige Nubier, och dessutom två karlar, Ibrahim kammartjenare och Abdallah kock. / I övre våningen hade vi flera rymliga och ljusa rum med divaner och balkonger, ifrån hvilka utsikterna voro vidsträckta och vackra.” (We march in and take possession of a large stone house, which belonged to Fuad el Pascha. The Nile squalled up to one side so that we could have ten fishing from the windows. The house was otherwise completely empty, so that we had to have order household utensils, bedding, servants, a cook with accessories and much more from Cairo, which is not mentioned in a thousand and one nights, but which is nevertheless difficult to do without. It also became necessary to get us a kind of Eastern clothing in order to be more insolent, and as a protection against the heat of the sun turbans were wrapped around the hats; mine was embroidered with yellow silk, which shone like gold. We were ready on small narrow-legged boricas [donkeys] with protruding moroccon saddles, and each had his runner behind him. / Our house was, as I have mentioned, located by the river and over the gate hung, according to the custom in Egypt, the skin of a large crocodile, which is believed to, if not bring happiness, at least scare away much evil and be a talisman against all kinds of enchantment. We had a porter, Mahommed, an old grey-bearded Nubian, and also two men, Ibrahim the butler and Abdallah the cook. / On the upper floor we had several spacious and bright rooms with divans and balconies, from which the views were extensive and beautiful.)

The Egyptian journey marked an important stage in Lundgren’s career. Already well established as a painter of Spanish scenes and as a celebrated war correspondent and artist during the Indian Rebellion, he now turned his attention to the landscapes and people of the Middle East. The Orientalist subjects he produced in Egypt resonated with the European fascination for the exotic and the ancient, but they also carry a sense of authenticity, born from direct encounter and the spontaneity of watercolour.

Lundgren’s international career had taken him from studies in Paris and Rome to long residencies in Spain and London, where he gained the patronage of Queen Victoria. His mastery of watercolour brought him election to the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1864, and his works were admired both in Sweden and abroad. The Egyptian sojourn of 1861–62 enriched his oeuvre with luminous Orientalist motifs, among which Resting Dromedar stands as a fine example. Exhibited in Sweden on several occasions, including the memorial exhibition of 1915, and with a provenance linking it to the Trygger collection, the painting today survives as both a lyrical desert study and a cultural document of Lundgren’s artistic journeys.

References

• Egron Lundgren, En målares anteckningar (A Painter’s Diary), Vols. I–III, 1871–73.
• Karl Asplund, Egron Lundgren, Vols. I–II, Stockholm, 1914–40.
• J. L. Roget, A History of the Old Watercolour Society, Vol. II, London 1891.
• G. Nordensvan, Egron Lundgren. Reseskildringar, anteckningar och bref, Stockholm, 1905.
• Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon, “Egron S. Lundgren.”
• Nationalmuseum, Svenska akvarellmålare under 1800-talet, exhibition catalogue, Stockholm 1981.

Villa Trygger, erected 1914 after a design by Ivar Tengbom

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815–1875) Sweden

Procession during Holy Week in Seville, Spain

Black ink, pencil, brown and red wash heightened with white on brown paper
201 x 267 mm.

Literature:
Lady Louisa Tenison, Castile and Andalucia, London 1853, lithograph between pp. 201–202
K. Asplund, Egron Lundgren I. 1815–1859, 1914, Vol. I, p. 143, p. 145, illustrating the lithograph

Cf. Literature:
Marta Jiménez Miranda, The special relationship between text and illustrations in Castilla and Andalucia by Louisa Mary Anne Tenison, University of Córdoba, Spain, 2022, p. 245, fig. 5

Drawn in 1852 during the artist’s stay in Spain between 1849–53. Preparatory drawing for a lithograph in Lady Louisa Tenison’s Castile and Andalucia from 1853. Lady King Tenison (1819–1882) was the wife of the Irish photographer and politician Edward King Tenison. Between 1850 and 1852, King Tenison and his wife travelled in Spain for their artwork. As an early adopter of the calotype photographic process, he aroused suspicion and curiosity due to his bulky equipment and outdoor work. The work was later published as Memories of Spain in 1854, while his wife's 50 lithographs appeared in Castile and Andalucia in 1853. In 1853, he joined the Photographic Society of London, and first displayed his work at the Great Industrial Exhibition in Dublin. The next year, he then helped to found the Dublin Photographic Society.

In the preface of her book Lady King Tenison writes:

“The landscape and architectural drawings are from my own sketches, but the figures are from the pencil of Mr. Egron Lundgren, a Swedish artist now residing in Seville, whose admirable delineations of Spanish life and customs are well known to those who have had the pleasure of visiting his studio.”

Travelers’ books show an evolution of Holy Week as the centuries go by. From the 16th century, when travelers saw penance and the processional steps as an act of faith, until the 18th century, when they began to criticize the most irrational customs and the lack of faith of many participants who sought social prestige through the celebration or to hide immoral behavior. Lady King Tenison writes about the subject of the present work:

“The images or pasos belong to certain religious associations called Cofradias. Founded in days gone by, when faith prompted people to attend them, and look on them with some feelings of reverential awe; but that spirit has passed away, and now they are chiefly supported by the innkeepers and tradesmen of the town, who contribute largely to their funds, not from any devotional zeal, but as a source of profit, and from the knowledge that they attract a crowd of both natives and foreigners, and thus afford them an opportunity of considerably improving their temporal interests.”

In his two-volume book on Egron Lundgren, Karl Asplund writes about the subject (op. cit., p. 143):

“Processionen är som en scenbild ur någon opera à la Carmen; man tycker sig höra orkestermarschen, under vilken hela ensemblen tågar in och uppfyller scenen till en final.”
(“The procession is like a scene from some opera à la Carmen; you think you hear the orchestral march, during which the whole ensemble marches in and fills the stage for a finale.”)

Holy Week in Spain is the annual tribute of the Passion of Jesus Christ celebrated by Catholic religious brotherhoods (Spanish: cofradía) and fraternities that perform penance processions on the streets of almost every Spanish city and town during the last week of Lent, the week immediately before Easter. The processions incorporate different scenes from the Passion of Christ. Every brotherhood carries magnificent Pasos or floats with sculptures that depict different scenes from the gospels related to the Passion of Christ or the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary. Brotherhoods have owned and preserved these Pasos for centuries in some cases. Usually, the Pasos are accompanied by marching bands performing Marchas procesionales, a specific type of composition devoted to the images and fraternities. Since Holy Week coincides with Palm Sunday, the feast also commemorates Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In many Catholic and Episcopal denominations, worship services on Palm Sunday include a procession of the faithful carrying palms, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem.

The celebration of Holy Week regarding popular piety relies almost exclusively on the processions of the brotherhoods or fraternities. These associations have their origins in the Middle Ages, but a number of them were created during the Baroque period. The membership is usually open to any Catholic person, and family tradition is an important element to become a member or “brother” (hermano). Historically, the flagellants are the origin of the current traditions, as they flogged themselves to do penance. Pope Clement VI ordered that flagellants could perform penance only under control of the Church; he decreed Inter sollicitudines (“inner concerns”). This is considered one of the reasons why flagellants often hid their faces.

A common feature in Spain is the almost general usage of the nazareno or penitential robe for some of the participants in the processions. This garment consists of a tunic, a hood with conical tip (capirote or coroza) used to conceal the face of the wearer, and sometimes a cloak. The use of the capirote or coroza was prescribed in Spain and Portugal by the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Men and women who were arrested also had to wear a paper capirote in public as a sign of public humiliation. The colour was different, conforming to the judgement of the office. People who were condemned to be executed wore a red coroza. Other punishments used different colours. When the Inquisition was abolished, the symbol of punishment and penitence was kept in the Catholic brotherhood. The exact colors and forms of the robes depend on the particular procession.

The robes were widely used in the medieval period for penitents, who could demonstrate their penance while still masking their identity, and were part of the uniform of some brotherhoods including the Nazarenos and Fariseos during Easter observances and reenactments in some areas during Holy Week in Spain.

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815-1875) Sweden

Lord Clyde and His Staff

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815-1875) Sweden

Studies of Sheep and Goat Heads, Cairo (c. 1871)

watercolor on paper
unframed 18 x 30 cm (7 ⅛ x 11 ¾ in.)
framed 30 x 41 cm (11 ¾ x 16 ⅛ in.)

This sheet features four close-up studies focusing on the heads of goats or sheep. Each animal’s head is drawn from a different angle: one profile highlights a pair of curved horns, while another face is viewed head-on. Lundgren uses warm brown watercolor washes on off-white paper, adding soft shading to model the contours of the animals’ faces. The simplicity of the sketches – with no background – directs all attention to the animals’ features. Created during Lundgren’s journey to Egypt (c. 1871), this detailed yet understated study exemplifies the artist’s neutral documentation of his surroundings in watercolor.

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815-1875) Sweden

Studies of Goat Heads and Figures, Cairo (c. 1871)

watercolor on paper
visible area 21 x 31 cm (8 ¼ x 12 ¼ in.)
framed 34 x 43 cm (13 ⅜ x 16 ⅞ in.)

Here Lundgren concentrates on individual studies of goats, especially their heads and expressions. In one sketch, a goat faces forward, its distinctive long ears and gentle features carefully rendered. Other small drawings show side views and a pair of goats resting together. Working on brown-toned paper, Lundgren contrasts dark sepia tones with touches of white paint to suggest sunlight on fur and horns. These informal, fragmentary studies give a lively impression of animals observed in the moment. They were likely made in Cairo around 1871, when Lundgren was documenting everyday life in quick watercolor sketches

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815-1875) Sweden

Goats and Sheep in Various Poses, Cairo (c. 1871)

watercolor on paper
unframed 22.5 x 21 cm (8 ⅞ x 8 ¼ in.)
framed 36 x 33 cm (14 ⅛ x 13 in.)

This study presents multiple views of goats and sheep drawn across a single sheet. Lundgren depicts the animals in different poses – a light-colored goat standing in profile, a dark goat or sheep curled up, and others sketched in outline. He works on tinted paper, applying brown watercolor washes and bold white highlights to make the figures stand out. The use of the gray-brown paper as mid-tone gives depth to the quick sketches. Made during Lundgren’s time in Cairo (circa 1871), the sheet reflects his practice of sketching local animals from life with fluid, spontaneous brushwork

Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815-1875) Sweden

Studies of Goats and Sheep, Cairo (c. 1871)

watercolor on paper
visible area 20.5 x 30.5 cm (8 x 12 in.)
framed 34 x 43.5 cm (13 ⅜ x 17 ⅛ in.)

Swedish artist Egron Lundgren sketched a small herd of goats and sheep resting together in this scene. Two goats recline quietly at the center while another stands nearby, creating a calm, balanced composition. Lundgren uses light brown watercolor washes and fine pencil lines to define the animals on a mostly blank page. The word “Cairo” appears on the sheet, linking it to his visit to Egypt around 1871. Drawn from life, this study showcases Lundgren’s neutral observation of everyday subjects, capturing the gentle posture and natural grouping of the animals he encountered.

Gustaf Fjæstad (Fjaestad) (1868–1948) Sweden

A Rocky Shore at Night, Full Moon

Signed “G. F.”
Authenticated on the reverse by Bo Fjæstad (1903–1991), the artist’s son
pencil on paper
unframed: 214 × 317 mm (8 ½ × 12 ½ in.)
framed: 30 × 37 cm (11 ¾ × 14 ½ in.)

Provenance:
Bo Fjæstad (Arvika 1903–1991 Arvika), the artist’s son, sculptor and furniture designer

This atmospheric drawing was likely executed around 1900–1905, and the motif probably derives from Lake Racken in Värmland, where Fjæstad built his house in 1902. Remarkably, the illusion of the moon is created solely by leaving the paper untouched.

Fjæstad usually painted directly before the motif or from photographs, making drawings of this kind exceedingly rare.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947) Swedish/American

Valley View with Pines and Distant Peaks

gouache on paper
signed
unframed 17.5 × 12.5 cm (6.9 × 4.9 inches)
framed 28 × 23 cm (11 × 9.1 inches)

Provenance: 
A Swedish private collection. 

Essay:
This luminous gouache captures a majestic mountain vista, likely set in California’s Sierra Nevada (possibly Yosemite). Two broad granite peaks with sunlit faces dominate the background, rendered in warm creams and purples. In the middle ground a dense conifer forest blankets the valley slopes, while a sunlit ridge of golden grasses and scattered pines lies in the foreground. Borg’s loose, impressionistic brushwork conveys the crisp mountain atmosphere and the play of light and shadow across rock and tree. Above, an open blue sky with wisps of cloud enhances the sense of high-altitude clarity. The composition draws the eye along a diagonal valley path toward the distant peaks, giving the scene a grand sense of depth and scale despite the painting’s small size. The effect is both vibrant and serene, evoking the expansive beauty of the Western wilderness.

Swedish-born Carl Oscar Borg was a prominent early-20th-century artist of the American West. After coming to California in 1901 and studying with landscape painter William Wendt, Borg became associated with the California Impressionists who celebrated coastal and mountain scenery with bold color and light-filled brushwork. He rose to wider fame by the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and spent decades painting throughout California, Arizona and New Mexico. Borg is best known for his respectful depictions of Native American life and for dramatic Western landscapes – from Yosemite’s granite domes and the Grand Canyon’s vast canyons to New Mexico’s blue-tinged mountains. This gouache exemplifies Borg’s characteristic style: energetic, economy of stroke and a clear, harmonious palette that captures the unique light of the Southwest. He often worked in small studies like this one en plein air, producing many sketches in watercolor and gouache of mountain and desert scenes. Comparable examples in his oeuvre include studies explicitly of Yosemite’s cliffs and sketches titled “Blue Mountains, New Mexico,” all featuring the same luminous distant ridges and sunlit foregrounds. The present work’s sweeping valley and towering peaks reflect Borg’s lifelong fascination with Western vistas. Today, Borg’s paintings are celebrated for their combination of vibrant color and evocative atmosphere – qualities beautifully showcased in this intimate mountain landscape.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947) Swedish/American

Easter Fires, Dalsland (Påskeldar, Dalsland)

gouache on paper
signed 
sheet 12.5 cm x 17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in)
framed 23 x 28 (9 x 11 in) 

Essay:
A rare and atmospheric work from Carl Oscar Borg’s early years in Sweden, this evocative gouache captures the tradition of Easter fires (påskeldar) in the rural region of Dalsland. Against a smoky, windswept sky, silhouettes of figures gather near a roaring blaze. The fire’s bright orange and rose-colored flames cut through the night, casting fleeting light on the surrounding darkness. Quick, expressive brushstrokes heighten the drama of the scene, as heat and movement ripple through the composition.

This painting stands apart from Borg’s later, better-known American landscapes. Here, the focus is not on the grandeur of nature but on a moment of human ritual—communal, ancient, and deeply rooted in Nordic folklore. The påskeldar tradition, still practiced in parts of Sweden, historically served to ward off evil spirits and celebrate the arrival of spring.

Carl Oscar Borg left Sweden in 1901 and became a celebrated interpreter of the American West, painting its deserts, pueblos, and dramatic vistas. But works such as Påskeldar, Dalsland offer a rare glimpse into his early artistic vision—when his palette was still shaped by the dusky forests and folk customs of his native land. It reveals a different side of Borg: not the chronicler of the Wild West, but the young Scandinavian artist attuned to the elemental drama of firelight and shadow.

This intimate gouache glows with memory and myth, a flicker from the artist’s roots before his journey westward began.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947)

An Old Military Road, The Road over Dovrefjell, Norway

gouache on paper, ca. 1900
signed
sheet 12.5 cm x  17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in) 
framed 23 × 28 cm (9 × 11 in)

Essay:
This evocative mountain scene captures the vast, windswept highlands of Dovrefjell in central Norway. A narrow ochre road winds gently into the distance, cutting through tundra dotted with lichen-covered rocks, melting snowfields, and pale blue pools. Beyond the foreground, low ridgelines and rounded peaks rise up toward the horizon, tinged with mauves, rusts, and icy whites. The atmosphere is brisk and luminous—suggesting early morning light breaking over a remote, high-altitude plateau.

Dovrefjell, historically a main route between southern and northern Norway, has long been traversed by traders, pilgrims, and soldiers. The title of this work refers to the old military road across the massif—once a key artery for movement through the mountainous terrain. Borg’s painting conveys not only the natural beauty of the place, but also the quiet isolation and historical depth that characterize the region.

Painted around 1900, this gouache dates from Carl Oscar Borg’s earliest period as an artist, just before his emigration to the United States. Unlike his later, more widely known depictions of the American Southwest, this work belongs to a rare group of Scandinavian landscapes he executed as a young man. Here, his brush is loose and expressive, capturing fleeting light and shifting cloud with confident, fluid strokes. The composition is simple yet expansive, inviting the viewer to follow the winding road into the heart of the mountains.

As an early plein-air study, An Old Military Road reveals Borg’s sensitivity to light, land, and mood—qualities that would come to define his mature work. In this small but richly atmospheric piece, we see an artist on the verge of his transatlantic journey, absorbing the Nordic wilderness with a clarity and calm that echo across time.

Amalia Lindegren (Stockholm 1814–1891 Stockholm)

Italian Woman from Albano Seated on a Chair

titled “Albano”, in pencil
with color notations by the artist in pencil
pencil on paper, mounted on an old passe-partout
33.9 x 25.1 cm

Provenance:
Auction, Stockholm, Bukowskis, Förteckning öfver… Som tillhört… genre and portrait painter Amalia Lindegren, October 29, 1892, listed under V. Handteckningar ur Amalia Lindegrens portfölj, no. 170 or 171, “Kostymstudier. Blyerts”, sold for 6 kr 50 öre and 7 kr respectively, both purchased by Lanzki.

References:

• Exhibition catalog, Stockholm, Konstakademien, Retrospektiv Konstutställning, March 23–May 22, 1898.
• Exhibition catalog, Stockholm, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Amalia Lindegren, April–June 1974.
• E.-L. Bengtsson, Amalia Lindegren: Aspects of a 19th Century Artist, in Woman's Art Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1984–85, pp. 16–20.
• E.-L. Bengtsson, Verklighetens poesi. Svenska genrebilder 1825–1880, 2000.
• Exhibition catalog, L. Lantz, Katten i konsten på Nationalmuseum, 2006.
• E.-L. Bengtsson, En kämpande själ och den svenska konstens primadonna. Sophie Adlersparre och Amalia Lindegren, in Exhibition catalog, Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, Stolthet & fördom: kvinna och konstnär i Frankrike och Sverige 1750–1860, September 27, 2012–January 20, 2013.

Essay:
Executed during the artist’s stay in Rome from autumn 1854 to June 1855. In Rome, she painted her most famous work, Girl with an Orange, which was acquired in 1856 as part of Sweden’s first state-funded art purchase (Nationalmuseum NM 991). Lindegren was the first Swedish female artist to receive a travel grant from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Adam Frans van der Meulen (1632-1690) Flemish, French

Study of a horse lying on its right side seen from the front

Inscribed: “Van der Meulen f.” 
Red chalk on paper
unframed: 20.5 x 24.5 cm (8 1/8 x 9 5/8 in, irregularly cut)
framed: 42 x 45 cm (16 1/2 x 17 3/4 in)

Provenance: 
Jean-Marc Du Pan (1785–1838), Geneva (L. 1440), passed to his brother
Alexandre-Louis Du Pan (1787–1846);
his sale, Geneva, March 26–28, 1840, included in lots 913–917;
Collection of Marie de Rohan-Chabot, Princess Lucien Murat, Paris;
Collection of Louis Stern;
Aguttes Auction, Paris, 2019, lot 4;
Acquired above by an important private collection, Stockholm.

Essay:
This exquisite red chalk drawing by Adam Frans van der Meulen depicts a horse lying on its right side, viewed from the front. It serves as a preparatory study for the left horse featured in one of the plates from the series of ten etchings titled Horses Wounded in Battle (see image), by Jan van Huchtenberg (1647–1733) after van der Meulen’s drawings. The series was published between 1662 and 1690 under van der Meulen’s supervision (Hollstein 41; Bartsch V. 425; Weigel 1843). 

Adam Frans van der Meulen, best known for his military scenes and landscapes, was granted a royal patent by Louis XIV to have his designs engraved and published. He assembled a team of skilled Flemish and Dutch printmakers, including Adriaen Frans Boudewijns, Abraham Genoels, Jan van Huchtenberg, and Romeyn de Hooghe, to translate his work into prints. The French engraver Robert Bonnart also collaborated with van der Meulen, producing and selling prints under his direction.

Van der Meulen’s designs—many of which depict landscapes, battles, and military life—were engraved and distributed to private clients. His prints were initially sold from his lodgings at the Gobelins Manufactory and later distributed by publishers and merchants. In 1670, he arranged for 13 large-scale engravings representing royal conquests and sieges to be created for the King’s Cabinet, which were later published by the Royal Printing Office in 1679. These engravings solidified his role as a propagandist for Louis XIV, contributing to the Sun King’s iconic image.

This drawing highlights van der Meulen’s masterful observation of anatomy and movement, capturing the vitality and pathos of his equestrian subjects.

Gustaf Wilhelm Palm (1810–1890) Sweden

Ruins of the Imperial Castle Outside Split in Croatia

pencil and watercolour 
unframed: 23.6 x 29.2 cm (9 1/4 x 11 1/2 in)
framed: 40 x 45 cm (15 3/4 x 17 3/4 in)
signed G.W. [a palm tree] and dated 1840 and bearing the inscription “Daßs Keysers Schloss in Croatia n. d. n. Sightseeing.[eichnet] de 21 October 840 in gesellschaft mit Sne Excelens Baron v Ottenfels incognito.

Essay:
In 1837, Gustaf Wilhelm Palm left Stockholm for Berlin to seek treatment for an eye disease. By August 1838, he had settled in Vienna, where he remained for over two years. However, Palm’s ultimate dream was to travel to Italy. After visiting Hungary and Trieste, he finally embarked on his journey to Venice in November 1840, beginning a decade-long stay in Italy.

While in Vienna, Palm exhibited works at the Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Association's exhibitions. In 1840, he presented several paintings featuring local landscapes, including View of the Ruins of Dürenstein by the Danube and View of Gutenstein Castle in Steiermark. The latter was purchased by the Art Association in Stockholm in 1841 (G. Lindgren, Landskapsmålaren G. W. Palm 1810–1890, 1934, pp. 60, 64–65).

During his time in Vienna, Palm became acquainted with Baron Franz Xaver von Ottenfels (1778–1851), a confidant of Chancellor Klemens von Metternich. Von Ottenfels’ eldest son, Moritz Franz von Ottenfels (1820–1907), would go on to become one of Palm’s closest friends. In September 1840, Palm was invited to the von Ottenfels family estate, Horwatzska, in Hungary.

From Horwatzska, Palm and Franz Xaver von Ottenfels undertook an excursion to Croatia, where the von Ottenfels family owned the castle of Bežanec. The ruins depicted in this watercolour were likely drawn during this journey and are believed to represent the medieval castle of Klis, located in the mountains outside Split. This castle, once the seat of Croatian kings, was later converted into a fortress during the Ottoman wars.

Palm’s inscription on the watercolour includes the term "incognito," referring to Baron Franz Xaver von Ottenfels’ frequent use of the pseudonym Henry Werner during his travels. After leaving Horwatzska, Palm continued to Trieste in Italy, arriving at the end of October (Lindgren, op. cit., pp. 67–68).

Oskar Bergman (Stockholm 1879–1963 Saltsjöbaden)

“Skogskanten” (Winter Landscape with Spruce Trees)

signed "Oskar Bergman" in pencil
drypoint etching
image size: 19.5 x 29.5 cm (7 5/8 x 11 5/8 in)
paper size: 30 x 40 cm (11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in)
unframed
created in 1915

Exhibited:
Stockholm, The Swedish General Art Association, Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings by Oskar Bergman, January 17–February 14, 1916, listed under 1915, no. 167 as “Skogskanten.”

Printed in a maximum of 50 copies.

Oskar Bergman (Stockholm 1879–1963 Saltsjöbaden)

“Fjärden” (Expansive Archipelago Landscape)

Signed "Oskar Bergman" in pencil
Drypoint etching
image size: 17.5 x 25 cm (6 7/8 x 9 7/8 in)
paper size: 29 x 39 cm (11 3/8 x 15 3/8 in)
unframed

Exhibited:
Stockholm, The Swedish General Art Association, Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings by Oskar Bergman, January 17–February 14, 1916, listed under 1915, no. 174 as “Fjärden.”

Printed in a maximum of 50 copies.

Victor Jernbergh (1882-1963) Sweden

Evening Glow by the River, 1917

pastel on paper
signed and dated V.Jernbergh -17
unframed 43 x 54 cm (16.93 x 21.26 inches)
framed 59.5 x 70.5 cm (23.43 x 27.76 inches)

Provenance: 
A Swedish private collection. 

Essay:

This evocative pastel painting by Victor Jernbergh, dated 1917, captures the serene and enchanting scene of a river at dusk. The central composition is dominated by a lone pine tree in the foreground, which creates a striking depth and leads the viewer's eye into the tranquil landscape beyond. The soft, fading light of twilight is beautifully rendered, casting a warm glow over the river and the surrounding hills, giving the entire scene a sense of calm and stillness.

The meticulous details and the rich texture of Jernbergh’s pastel strokes highlight his mastery in capturing the delicate interplay between light and nature. The interplay of shadows and the gentle, flowing lines of the river enhance the painting's dreamlike quality. This piece is a testament to Jernbergh’s ability to convey both the grandeur and the quiet intimacy of the natural world.

The Artist:
Victor Jernbergh (1882-1963) was a Swedish artist, draftsman, and graphic designer. Born on April 28, 1882, in Eskilstuna, he was the son of Carl Johan Jernbergh and Fredrika Karolina Carlström. Jernbergh's artistic journey began with studies at the Technical School in Stockholm (1902-1903), followed by advanced training in drawing and lithography in Berlin (1904-1906). He further honed his skills under the tutelage of Carl Wilhelmson from 1913 to 1915 and studied etching with Axel Tallberg from 1915 to 1917.

Throughout his career, Jernbergh exhibited widely across Sweden, showcasing his work in cities such as Eskilstuna, Gävle, Nyköping, and at the prestigious Konstnärshuset in Stockholm. He participated in numerous group exhibitions with the Graphic Society and the Original Woodcut Association and was featured in the Swedish Art exhibition at Valand in Gothenburg.

Jernbergh's oeuvre includes landscapes from Norrland and Spain, rendered in oil, pastels and watercolour, as well as rustic scenes depicted through woodcuts. As an illustrator, he contributed to several fairy tale books. His public works include an altarpiece for Jukkasjärvi Church and a baptism chapel in Nyköping. His graphic works are part of the collections at the National Museum, the Eskilstuna Art Museum, and the Östersund Museum.