Leander Engström

Leander Engström is one of the Swedish artists who brought modernism to Sweden. He was born in Hälsingland and studied at the Artists' Association's painting school 1907-1908 and then for Henri Matisse in Paris 1908-1910. However, he stayed in Paris for another couple of years. Together with Isaac Grünewald, among others, he formed the artist group De Unga which made a scandalous debut in 1909 with his colourful paintings inspired by Matisse. Engström found many of his motifs in the northern mountains and built a house in Abisko. During the 1920s, he spent time in Italy, including Florence. Engström's imagery has features of post-impressionism (Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne), the simplification of synthesism (Paul Gauguin), the break-up of forms in cubism and the strong colours of fauvism. Kristoffer Arvidsson