Street in Visby

Street in Visby

1887

Watercolour on paper

Mått 36,00 x 54,00 cm

GKM 1222

Purchase, 1887

The sun hangs low over St. Nicholas Street. Shadows from the buildings stretch across the road, where children are fetching water from a pump. An orange, sunbaked fence, blue-grey smoke rising from a chimney, and bright green patches of grass all showcase the artist’s sensitivity to colour. The imposing ruin of St. Nicholas Church forms a solid, solemn backdrop to the scene. In the foreground, a woman rests outside a house—perhaps pausing briefly in the midst of her daily work. Anna Gardell-Ericson was born in Visby in 1853 and grew up in a home where art and music were natural parts of everyday life. She trained as an artist in Stockholm and Paris, among other places, and achieved significant success in France, where she received medals and diplomas. In Paris she met her husband, Johan Ericson, and after several years abroad they settled in Gothenburg. Gardell-Ericson lived to the age of 85 and continued to paint diligently despite the pain caused by her rheumatism. It is said that only days before her death, she was still painting idyllic summer scenes.