Einar Jolin

In the spring of 1914, Einar Jolin returned home from Paris to participate in the Baltic Exhibition in Malmö, a showcase featuring artists from the countries around the Baltic Sea.
In Paris, he studied under Henri Matisse, producing numerous model studies and acquiring a spontaneous and natural quickness in his way of painting. He planned to return to Paris after the summer, but with the outbreak of World War I on July 28, the way to France closed.
He managed to secure a small studio on Fiskargatan 9, in the so-called "Skandalhuset" near Katarina Kyrkan on the heights of Söder. From his windows, he had a breathtaking view of the city. In this studio, some now famous and highly valued views of Stockholm were created between 1914 and 1915.
Whether the city was bathed in spring sunlight or winter mist, its beauty remains untouched. A motif he constantly returned to was the view from the studio at Katarinaberget, always a Sunday-quiet metropolis. In this depiction of Stockholm in winter attire, we follow the artist's sweeping gaze towards Gamla Stan and the castle. Against large flat surfaces in cool pink, thin blue, and light violet, he places dark, simplified details in the form of a flying bird to create contrast and a sense of quiet movement.
In Einar Jolin's oeuvre, there is a conscious and sometimes distancing observation from the artist's side. Similarly, in this painting, all non-essentials are stripped away, and the stylized forms convey a clean, elegant impression in soft, gentle colors, entirely in line with the Stockholm motifs from 1914-1915 that are now in museum collections.