Öland Farm in Sunset

Öland Farm in Sunset

Oil on canvas

Mått 89,50 x 124,50 cm Ram 118,00 x 153,50 x 10,50 cm

GKM 2013-56

Bequest of Gustaf Werner (1859–1948) to the City of Gothenburg. Transferred to the Gothenburg Museum of Art in 2013.

Per Ekström was a painter of light. Like many of his generation, he travelled to Paris and was impressed by French en plein air painting. When he returned to Sweden in 1890, he settled down on the island of Öland, first during the summers and later permanently. His palette became darker. The often desolate landscapes, centred on a descending sun, were charged with ambiences in the vein of romantic nationalism. The buildings appear to huddle together to seek protection against the storm in the barren landscape. Behind the house, the sky is illuminated by the light of the setting sun. The trees are transformed into living creatures. There is light from a window. Human figures are conspicuously absent in Ekström’s works – yet he depicts human settlements, the boundary between civilisation and nature, outposts against infinity. In time, his imagery became bolder and he continued to capture the light meticulously, but now with broken, rough brush strokes which lent an expressive vigour to his paintings.

Göteborg, Göteborgs konstmuseum, 07/09/2013 - 17/11/2013