ERIK OLSON. Still life with woman.
Description
Oil on canvas, 46 x 60 cm. Signed Erik O and dated 1925.
Halmstad's son Erik Olson grew up in a seafaring family with the horizon in front of his eyes. He was a dreamer in close contact with his imagination, while at the same time being practical and weak to constructions. The father's hope was that his son would become an engineer, but he was determined that it was in the arts that he would work. In 1915 he formed the artist group Gnistan together with his brother Axel and cousin Waldemar Lorentzon.
At an exhibition in Halmstad four years later, he was discovered by art connoisseur Egon Östlund, who introduced him and his artist friends to avant-garde artist Gösta Adrian Nilsson. The young artists admired GAN who had already been in Berlin, in the circle around Der Sturm, wrote manifestos and, above all, with talent and courage, managed to create a unique Cubist style for themselves.
In 1924, five years after GAN travelled to Paris, Erik Olson and Waldemar Lorentzon also arrived there. Paris had become the center of avant-garde painting and in Montparnasse's café life appeared most of the greatest modernists, both Swedish and foreign. Eager to revisit GAN, the two cousins quickly sought him out at his residence at the legendary address: 86, rue Nôtre-Dame-des Champs, around the corner of Boulevard Montparnasse. The GAN opened the door to its adepts, and introduced them to the neighbour, Fernand Léger who in turn included them in his first pupil brood at the Académie Moderne. Erik Olson became engrossed by the great charismatic artist and by his austere machine cubism. In one of his many letters to his brother Axel Olson from this time, dated October 3, Erik Olson described how he begins to see geometric shapes in all figures: “When I see a simple country man walking across the fields or across the road past my window, I can often be utterly struck by the developmental possibilities of a single figure. And I also set this very thing as a test of mastery, to be able to paint this single figure, straight and plain, without kinks and debauchery. A stately line rhythm plastic volumes, impressions of monumental movement without convulsions.” Compare with: Viveka Bosson, “In Leger's atelier”, 1994. Erik Olson's own description of how he develops his depicted subject is as found for the auction's captivating work, “Still Life with Woman”.
In the motif sits a woman of her time. She has short page and is dressed in a plastic blue luminous top. Behind her you can see the text Café and in front there is a table set up. The mug with blue decor, unmistakably from the Rörstrand porcelain factory on the West Coast, is placed between a green wine bottle and a high plateau with fruit. The line rhythm is precise and energetic, creating plastic volumes of the objects and of the woman's body and gaze. The things and the woman look almost artificial, while there is a dense, dreamy, slightly decadent atmosphere in the room. The composition also shines through the many symbolic values of still life painting: temptations, life and wealth. The Swedish mug has a nostalgic value of its own, and with its timeless shape stands in contrast to fleeting trends. Erik Olson looks ahead, but also cherishes other values. It is aesthetically stylish, interesting and above all modern.
The optimism of the decade and Erik Olson's belief in his ability led him during the Parisian era to accomplish a painting unique to his hand. The work that Stockholms Auktionsverk has the privilege to convey is, in addition to its stylistic appeal, very significant and makes us feel an incipient surrealism in the young driven artist.Show more
Condition
Dirt splashes. Call the Crackeliers. For further information, please contact victoria.svederberg@auktionsverket.com.
Resale right
Yes
Artist/designer
Erik Olson (1901–1986)
Bid on this lot
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Description
Oil on canvas, 46 x 60 cm. Signed Erik O and dated 1925.
Halmstad's son Erik Olson grew up in a seafaring family with the horizon in front of his eyes. He was a dreamer in close contact with his imagination, while at the same time being practical and weak to constructions. The father's hope was that his son would become an engineer, but he was determined that it was in the arts that he would work. In 1915 he formed the artist group Gnistan together with his brother Axel and cousin Waldemar Lorentzon.
At an exhibition in Halmstad four years later, he was discovered by art connoisseur Egon Östlund, who introduced him and his artist friends to avant-garde artist Gösta Adrian Nilsson. The young artists admired GAN who had already been in Berlin, in the circle around Der Sturm, wrote manifestos and, above all, with talent and courage, managed to create a unique Cubist style for themselves.
In 1924, five years after GAN travelled to Paris, Erik Olson and Waldemar Lorentzon also arrived there. Paris had become the center of avant-garde painting and in Montparnasse's café life appeared most of the greatest modernists, both Swedish and foreign. Eager to revisit GAN, the two cousins quickly sought him out at his residence at the legendary address: 86, rue Nôtre-Dame-des Champs, around the corner of Boulevard Montparnasse. The GAN opened the door to its adepts, and introduced them to the neighbour, Fernand Léger who in turn included them in his first pupil brood at the Académie Moderne. Erik Olson became engrossed by the great charismatic artist and by his austere machine cubism. In one of his many letters to his brother Axel Olson from this time, dated October 3, Erik Olson described how he begins to see geometric shapes in all figures: “When I see a simple country man walking across the fields or across the road past my window, I can often be utterly struck by the developmental possibilities of a single figure. And I also set this very thing as a test of mastery, to be able to paint this single figure, straight and plain, without kinks and debauchery. A stately line rhythm plastic volumes, impressions of monumental movement without convulsions.” Compare with: Viveka Bosson, “In Leger's atelier”, 1994. Erik Olson's own description of how he develops his depicted subject is as found for the auction's captivating work, “Still Life with Woman”.
In the motif sits a woman of her time. She has short page and is dressed in a plastic blue luminous top. Behind her you can see the text Café and in front there is a table set up. The mug with blue decor, unmistakably from the Rörstrand porcelain factory on the West Coast, is placed between a green wine bottle and a high plateau with fruit. The line rhythm is precise and energetic, creating plastic volumes of the objects and of the woman's body and gaze. The things and the woman look almost artificial, while there is a dense, dreamy, slightly decadent atmosphere in the room. The composition also shines through the many symbolic values of still life painting: temptations, life and wealth. The Swedish mug has a nostalgic value of its own, and with its timeless shape stands in contrast to fleeting trends. Erik Olson looks ahead, but also cherishes other values. It is aesthetically stylish, interesting and above all modern.
The optimism of the decade and Erik Olson's belief in his ability led him during the Parisian era to accomplish a painting unique to his hand. The work that Stockholms Auktionsverk has the privilege to convey is, in addition to its stylistic appeal, very significant and makes us feel an incipient surrealism in the young driven artist.Show more
Condition
Dirt splashes. Call the Crackeliers. For further information, please contact victoria.svederberg@auktionsverket.com.
Resale right
Yes
Artist/designer
Erik Olson (1901–1986)
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
