Gösta Adrian-Nilsson

GAN's strong attraction to sailors had three different causes, which were intertwined. The first and most important was the homoerotic attraction to “the blue ones”, which he expressed in many ways both in his paintings and in his diaries. The second reason was the geometry of the sailors' uniforms, which fascinated the futuristic-cubist artist from Lund. The third reason was more romantic: for GAN, sailors and seamen represented adventure and the dream of distant exotic lands, of sailing the seven seas.

After almost five years in Paris, GAN returned to Lund in May 1925. GAN connoisseur Jan Torsten Ahlstrand writes in “GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. The period 1914-1932”, 2002: ”In May 1925 GAN left Paris for good, in the company of Wiwen Nilsson, to conquer his hometown. Concern and care for his elderly mother - to whom he was deeply attached throughout his life - and for his younger sister drove him home, as did the possibility of working with Wiwen. It was only now that the family left the old hawker's hut in the 'Nöden' district, where GAN had grown up and where he had made his home during his many wanderings. Until the beginning of 1931 he lived again in Lund, as a pater familias with his mother and sister.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, GAN produced paintings inspired by his nightly walks in Lund. What these motifs have in common is that they add something new to GAN's production. He was a documented film buff and was thus a frequent moviegoer who could be seen strolling home through the streets of Lund after the evening's performance.