Carl Johansson - Winter Landscape (1928)

Carl Johansson (1863–1944) Sweden

Winter Landscape (1928)

oil on canvas
unframed 38 × 55 cm (14.96 × 21.65 in)
framed 48 × 65.5 cm (18.90 × 25.79 in)
signed and dated “Carl Johansson -28”.

Essay:
In the foreground, a rustic wooden fence and a stand of evergreens emerge from soft, pristine drifts, their dark green needles and the artist’s characteristic ultramarine shadows contrasting sharply against the expanse of white. To the right, the delicate silhouette of a bare birch tree extends its frost-laced branches into a pale winter sky. Beyond, a snow-blanketed valley opens up, where a few humble farm buildings barely peek through the covering of snow, suggesting the gentle presence of human life subdued by the season’s hush. Distant hills rise along the horizon in tones of blue and violet, receding into atmospheric haze and imparting a tremendous sense of depth and cold clarity. Johansson’s brushwork is confident and impressionistic, rather than delineating every detail, he captures the fleeting effects of light on snow and sky. The palette is restrained yet rich in nuance: crisp blues and soft lilacs articulate the long winter shadows, while subtle pink and golden tints may warm the sky at the vanishing sun. The atmosphere is one of serene stillness and chill, as if the air itself is motionless in the frigid afternoon light. Through this composition, Johansson masterfully conveys both the grand solitude and delicate poetry of the Nordic winter.

Carl Johansson (1863–1944) was a Swedish landscape painter celebrated for his ability to capture the austere beauty of his country’s northern scenery. Trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, he initially worked in a traditional academic style, but exposure to the French Impressionists Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro proved transformative, shifting his approach toward a looser brushwork and a keener interest in fleeting natural light. In 1885 Johansson aligned himself with the progressive Opponenterna (“Opponents”) group, a breakaway movement of artists advocating for modern ideas, which led to his departure from the conservative Academy. Over subsequent decades, he developed a distinctive Nordic impressionism: a nationally inflected mood painting characterized by clearer and colder colours, ideally suited to wintry motifs. Indeed, many of his favorite subjects were the snow-laden vistas of Norrland (northern Sweden), earning him the affectionate epithet “Norrlandsmålaren,” or “Painter of the North,” among his contemporaries. In his later works, Johansson often suffused his snowscapes with a bold blue tonality – so much so that he was nicknamed “Ultramarin-Johansson” for his predilection for vibrant ultramarine pigments. This 1928 scene, likely from Vemdalen, exemplifies Johansson’s mature style and vision: it merges an atmospheric realism with an impressionist’s sensitivity to color and light, reflecting the artist’s lifelong commitment to depicting Sweden’s landscapes with sincerity and lyricism. A respected member of the Royal Academy by the end of his career, Johansson is today regarded as an important figure in the evolution of Swedish landscape painting, bridging academic tradition and modern plein air naturalism while inspiring a new generation of Nordic painters.