Josef Wilhelm Wallander (15 May 1821, in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

– 6 February 1888, in Stockholm) was a Swedish painter, graphic artist and art professor who specialized in rural

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes.

Biography

His father was the painter, (1783-1858), who planned for him to become an architect, but also wanted him to have practical skills. In pursuit of that, he was apprenticed to a bricklayer in the summers and studied architecture 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 the winter. To help support the family, he and his sister Charlotta were trained in drawing and lithography and put to work doing portraits and magazine illustrations. Bevaringsgossar-1864

His education at the Academy continued until 1840, when he participated in a competition to design a new detention center for the municipality. Two years later, he became a Journeyman mason, but by then he had decided to become an artist. Although he had done well at the Academy, he was unable to secure the scholarship he would need for continuing his studies abroad. During a visit to Sävstaholm Castle in 1847, he came to the attention of Count , who hired him to copy and restore the 16th and 17th century paintings on the castle's walls. During the five years it took to complete this project, he became enamored of the local peasant farmers and their families. Soon, he began doing sketches and watercolors of their life and traditional costumes. He himself became a local character around the castle environs and in nearby

Kjesäter Kjesäter is a manor in the municipality of Vingåker in the county of Södermanland in Sweden that now (2008) serves as a folk high school and hostel. During World War II, it served as a refugee camp and transit center for refugees fleeing Nazi pe ...

, where he would entertain by singing, playing piano, acting and dancing. Thanks to his earnings from that project, he was able to travel to

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 ...

, where he studied with Rudolf Jordan, who shared his interest in folk life. He would make sketches in the countryside and turn them into paintings at Jordan's studio. He stayed there for nine years, but made numerous trips back to Sweden as well as to Paris and Italy. During this time, he also did illustrations for ''Den sista färden eller Döddansen'' (''The Last Journey or, The Death Dance'') by

August Blanche August Blanche (17 September 1811 – 30 November 1868) was a Swedish journalist, novelist, and politician. Life August Theodor Blanche was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the illegitimate child of a servant girl and a priest. His mother eventually ...

A series of illustrations was made for a new edition of the works of

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet, and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as wel ...

. The project never came to fruition, but he converted several of his drawings to oil paintings. In 1859, he was named a member of the Royal Academy. He returned to Stockholm in 1862 and participated in numerous exhibitions. He also held a showing at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

in Paris. From 1867 to 1886, he served as a Professor. Bjornjakt

In 1885, he refused to sign a petition put forward by a group called the "

Opponenterna ('the Opponents') was a group of 84 Swedish artists who, under the leadership of Ernst Josephson, organized the Opponent Movement () in the 1880s. On 27 March 1885, the members submitted their written demands to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine ...

", criticizing the teaching methods and styles taught at the Royal Academy. His nephew

Alf Wallander Alf Wallander (11 October 1862, Stockholm - 29 September 1914, Stockholm) was a Swedish painter, graphic designer, craftsman, and art conservator. Biography He was born to the architect Adolf Wallander and his wife, Hildegard Sofia née Blom.

, joined the group, which caused him great disappointment. That same year, his health began to noticeably decline. A retrospective was held by the in 1888. His works may be seen at 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 ...

, the

Nordiska museet The Nordic Museum () is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to begin in 1520) to the ...

Uppsala University Library The Uppsala University Library () at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books and periodicals, manuscripts, music ...

and 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> among many others.

References

Sources

*''

Svenskt konstnärslexikon The ''Svenskt konstnärslexikon'' is a dictionary of Swedish art and artists that was published in five volumes by Allhems Förlag AB from 1952 to 1967.More works by Wallander
@ ArtNet

from the ''

Nordisk Familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

'' @

Project Runeberg Project Runeberg () is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded by Lars Aronsson and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallander, Josef Wilhelm 1821 births 1888 deaths 19th-century Swedish painters 19th-century Swedish illustrators Swedish genre painters Artists from Stockholm