Gösta Adrian-Nilsson
"Fotbollsspelare" (Soccer player)
Signed GAN. Probably executed circa 1926. Watercolour, indian ink and pencil on paper mounted on paper-panel 26 x 15 cm.
Literature
Nils Lindgren, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson", 1949, compare oilpainting "Fotbollsspelare" from 1926, illustrated p. 146.
Jan Torsten Ahlstrand and Viveka Bosson: "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Perioden 1914-1932", 2002, illustrated in Bosson's section, p. 133.
More information
Katalognumret kan möjligtvis vara en förlaga till oljemålningen med samma namn från 1926 om vilken Viveka Bosson skriver: "Då GAN lämnar den germanska konstvärlden för att 1920-25 insupa den galliska esprin med dess klarhet och balans ser vi att han övergår till en klart syntetisk formgivning (t.ex. i 'Fotbollsspelare' 1926). I kubistisk anda bortser han från ljusets och rörelsens förändrande inverkan på föremålen och målar istället sin FÖRESTÄLLNING av objektet i dess mest uttrycksfulla moment. Formerna länkas samman till en kretsande rörelse som nu stannar INOM bildramen" ('GAN 1920-30. Några glimtar genom den Gyllene Bokens prisma', artikel i "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Perioden 1914-1932", 2002).
Designer
Gösta Adrian-Nilsson is most notable as a visual artist, and he is a pioneer of Swedish modernism. He studied at the Tekniske Selskabs Skole in Copenhagen and later for Johan Rohde at Zahrtmann’s school in Copenhagen. As an avant-gardist, Nilsson was constantly searching for new influences. In Berlin, he was influenced by the circle around the radical magazine Der Sturm, through Kandinsky and och Franz Marc. In Paris through Fernand Legér and the artists in his circle. GAN was an eclectic in the positive sense of the word. He took the the artist styles of the 1900s and created new impressions. Symbolism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, constructivim and Theosophy were the colours occupying his internal pallet. He had a sharp eye for the masculine and his painting was often energized by the vitality of modern technology, vibrant eroticism, and echoes of tyrants. No other Swedish modern artist exhibits such a unique style.
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