Gustaf Olof Cederström (1845-1933) was a Swedish painter who specialized in historical scenes and portraits.
Biography
His father, (1804-1892) was a naval officer and his mother, Theresine (1815-1873), was an amateur painter. His interest in history began when he was still very young and he discovered that one of his ancestors had participated in the
Skirmish at Bender
The Skirmish at Bender (; ) was devised to remove Charles XII of Sweden from the Ottoman Empire after his military defeats in Russia. It took place on 1 February 1713 on Ottoman territory, in what is now the town of Bender, Moldova ( separatist ...
.
At first, he planned to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a military career. In 1864, he was assigned to an infantry regiment in
Värmland
Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west.
Name
Several Latinized version ...
as an ''
underlöjtnant
''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...
'' but, whenever possible, he also took art classes at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...
. In 1870, he decided to resign his commission and become an artist. Later, he studied with Ferdinand Fagerlin in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
and
Léon Bonnat
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (; 20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, art collector and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.
Early life
Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 ...
in Paris, where he chose to settle in 1873.
Svensk uppslagsbok
''Svensk uppslagsbok'' is a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1929 and 1955, in two editions.
First edition
The first edition was started in 1929 by ''Baltiska förlaget AB'', but publishing was taken over by ''Svensk uppslagsbok AB'' in 1 ...
, Malmö 1930
His first success came at the
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The 1878 Universal Exposition (, ), also known as the 1878 Paris Exposition, 1878 World Fair, or 1878 World Expo, was a world's fair held in Paris, French Third Republic, France, from 1 May to 10 November 1878, to celebrate the recovery of Franc ...
, where he displayed a somewhat romanticized scene featuring the body of the late Swedish King,
Karl XII
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach. Charles was the ...
, being carried home. It brought him a medal and it was purchased by the Russian Grand Duke Konstantin, but was returned to Sweden after the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
and is now on display at the
Göteborgs konstmuseum
Gothenburg Museum of Art () is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third-largest art museum in Sweden by the size of its collection.
Collections
The museum holds the world's finest collection of late 19th-cen ...
.Göteborgs konstmuseum /ref> Later that same year, he was elected a member of the Royal Academy and married Amalia Katarina Jaeder. Their daughter, (1878-1954), also became a painter.
He was named a Professor at the Academy in 1887, and served as its Director from 1899 to 1911.Svensk uppslagsbok, Malmö 1939Gustaf Olof Cederström Konstnärslexikonett Amanda In 1894, he became involved in a project to paint historical scenes for the stairwell of the
Nationalmuseum
Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm.
The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...
, but a conflict over subject matter arose with
Carl Larsson
Carl Olof Larsson (; 28 May 1853 – 22 January 1919) was a Swedish painter representative of the Arts and Crafts movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolors, and frescoes. He is principally known for his watercolors of idyllic fami ...
, the other artist proposed for the project, and he eventually refused the assignment. In 1906, he did create scenes for the
Royal Dramatic Theatre
The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages.
The theatre has been at its present lo ...
.
He was also an author. His best known works are an autobiography, ''En gammal konstnärs minnen'' (An Old Artist's Memories, 1926) and ''Gammalt och nytt'' (Old and New, 1929).
Selected paintings
File:Carola Sitting on the Sofa (Gustaf Cederström) - Nationalmuseum - 22254.tif, Carola Sitting on the Sofa
File:Gustaf Cederström - David och Goliath.jpg, David and Goliath
File:Recruiting Sergeants (Gustaf Cederström) - Nationalmuseum - 18743.tif, Recruiting Sergeants
File:Bringing Home the Body of King Karl XII of Sweden (Gustaf Cederström) - Nationalmuseum - 18366.tif, Bringing Home the Body of King Charles XII
Gustaf
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...