Peter Dahl
Covered by droit de suite
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"Lampljus"
Signed Peter Dahl and dated 1987. Canvas 150 x 200 cm.
Provenance
Bukowski Auktioner AB, auction 543, Moderna Vårauktionen, 2007, cat. no 557.
Private Collection.
Literature
Galerie Aix, Stockholm, "Peter Dahl Arbeten - Works 1985-1987", 1987, illustrated full page in color p. 23.
More information
In the mid-1980s, Peter Dahl painted the famous Bellman-suite, consisting of large canvases filled with festive and sensual figure scenes inspired by Carl Gustav Pilo and Johan Tobias Sergel. The theme in the Bellman paintings continued to captivate Dahl in the following years, in paintings such as "Paris mutas," 1985, and the bacchanalian scene "Löst prat," 1987.
Folke Edwards writes, "At the same time as these festive and sensual images, Dahl painted a series of bourgeois interiors with women in different situations. Gone are Bellman's and Dionysus's sensual women. Instead, these women are portrayed as transparent, weightless, refined, concerned with their dignity. 'Everything rests, the air stands still, time has ceased, and nothing surprising can happen.'" (Folke Edwards, "Peter Dahl," 1996, p. 127
Artist
Peter Dahl is painter, printmaker, sculptor, and author. He was born in Oslo and came to Stockholm during the war years of the 1940s, studying at cadémie Libre in 1957 and then attended the Royal Institute of Art from 1958 to 1963 under the guidance of Lennart Rhode. He worked as a teacher at Gelesborg’s school during the 60s and 70s, and was the head professor of painting at Valand Art Academy in Gothenburg from 1975-79. Dahl paints in an expressive, realistic style with bright colours, sensual figure compositions, his art a vessel for his criticism towards upper class luxury and petty bourgeois environments. Influenced by the expressionism of Francis Bacon, he depicted the sequence of events in Medelsvensson's daydreams about "the sweet life" in the upper social group in a series of images. Over the years, Peter Dahl continued with thematic painting. From 1981 to 1984, he illustrated Fredman's Epistles in 87 pictures.
He is outgoing and often depicts his own life with a touch of self-irony. His work is rooted in Swedish tradition, often revisiting and renewing old themes. In recent years, his style has become softer and more sensual, with his dance and bacchanalian motifs taking on a Rococo-like quality. As a printmaker, Dahl is particularly known for his congenial illustrations of Bellman's "Fredman's Epistles." Peter Dahl is considered one of the great artists of our time, immensely productive and consistently popular.
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