Eric Hallström

Following the First World War, in 1921 Eric Hallström decided to travel down through Europe to seek new inspiration from a different culture and other artists. In the novel "Eric Hallström - liv och konstnärskap", Lennarth Seth has written "Following the war-years' expressionist extravagance, many artists felt the need for a fresh start; many searched for a new, classicist ideal in traditional Italy."

Throughout the previous decade, Eric Hallström had become one of the leading naïve artists in Sweden, along with painters such as Hilding Linnqvist and Gideon Börje. Due to this, it was perhaps considered odd that he took a new path - as naïve artists were those who solely found inspiration in their home country.

Therefore, when the borders finally opened following the war, even this naïve artist decided to explore abroad. For Hallström, this led to going to the roots of the masters - to Michelangelos, Rafaels, Giottos and Fre Angelicos Italy. Not only did he visit Venice, Padua, Verona, Bologna and Siena, Hallström particularly liked Florence and its outskirts Settigano and Pistoja. Most of his time was spent going to museums and studying art historical buildings - seeking inspiration. Therefore, barely anything was painted during this time.

After six months abroad, Eric Hallström returned to Sweden full of inspiration from Italy. That summer, he painted from his memories of the trip, to portray his perception of the Italian cities and the mediterranean, including for instance the square in Pistoja at nighttime.