Leander Engström
For condition report contact specialist
"Självporträtt" (Selfportrait)
Signed Leander Engström and dated 1926. Canvas 54 x 42 cm. Italian baroque frame.
Exhibitions
Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, "Leander Engström", 19 September - 30 November 1986, cat no 83.
Museet Kulturhuset, Borås, "Leander Engström", 1986-87, cat no 83.
Literature
Otto G. Carlsund, "Leander Engström", article in Konstrevy No 3, 1937, illustrated page 88.
Nils Palmgren, "Leander Engström", Svenska målare, AB Svensk litteratur, illustrated p. 123.
More information
I mitten av 1920-talet bosatte sig Leander Engström med sin familj i sin hemstads närhet i Tynderö i Medelpad. Under sommaren 1926 arbetade han framför allt på två verk.
"Det ena var det kraftfulla självporträttet (sid. 123) där konstnären ser på sig själv stolt och självmedvetet men också allvarlig prövande. I detta porträtt äro åter tillfinnandes några av den unga expressionistens bästa värden, dess friskhet och frihet från konventionalism, dess ungdomliga inspiration, dess heta romantik. Trots det svårmodiga draget över munnen och de forskande ögonen är detta en man för vilket livet varit ett stort och gudomligt äventyr och måleriet ett sakrament."
Nils Palmgren, "Leander Engström", Svenska målare, AB Svensk litteratur, sid 126-127.
Artist
Per leander Engström was a Swedish visual artist born in Ytterhogdal. He studied under the tutorship of Henri Matisse in Paris and the artists association school in Stockholm. Engström was part of the artistic group De Unga together with none other than Isaac Grünewald and Tor Bjurström. Engström was greatly inspired by Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne. Leander Engström followed in Osslund's footsteps and was captivated by Lapland's overwhelming natural scenery, which he depicted using the forms and colors of Fauvism. His paintings from 1912-15 - landscapes, still lifes, nude scenes - are harmonious and emotional, built upon Cézannes principles of discrete, weak colours. The years between 1916 and 1919 kan be understood as his most expressionistic period. Sweeping lines, large stylised planes and bright strong colours dominated his characteristic style. Engström found himself in Italy between 1920 and 1922 where he studied the early Rennaissance; it was during this time that he neared new objectivity. Leander Engström was one of Matisse's most impressive pupils.
Read more