Ernst Josephson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ernst Josephson

Born	(1851-04-16)16 April 1851 Stockholm, Sweden
Died	22 November 1906(1906-11-22) (aged 55) Stockholm, Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Field	Painting
Training	Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, Stockholm

Ernst Josephson (16 April 1851, Stockholm, Sweden – 22 November 1906) was a Swedish painter from a prominent Jewish family, whose main work was done on portraits and paintings of folk life.

He did his art studies in Italy, France and the Netherlands, among others, and is reputed to have said at the age of 20: "I will become Sweden's Rembrandt or die."

However, his life was marred by illness. He contracted syphilis at a relatively young age, and in 1888 he became mentally ill during a visit to Brittany, having religious hallucinations and believing that he was God and Christ.

He was later taken to hospital in Uppsala and diagnosed with schizophrenia, but continued working throughout his disease, often while in a trance-like state.

He also wrote poetry, in the collections Svarta rosor (1888, Black Roses) and Gula rosor (1896, Yellow Roses). His main work, Strömkarlen (1884, the Nix), was refused by the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm – however, Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke, bought the painting in fury over the decision.

Josephson's painting "Strömkarlen" shows the strong influence he has had on the current crop of Scandinavian figurative painters, most notably the Norwegian Odd Nerdrum.

Actor Erland Josephson is his grandson.

Gallery

Spanish blacksmiths (1881).
Näcken (1882).
Portrait of Jeanette Rubenson (1883).
Gåslisa (1888-1890).
Smile (1890).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ernst Josephson.

References

"Josephson, Ernst". Ett Binds Leksikon (3 ed.). 1990.
Ernst Josephson from the Swedish-language Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 July 2005.
Waldemarsudde Museum

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 27188878 LCCN: n92111961 ISNI: 0000 0000 8106 0101 GND: 118713191

Persondata
Name	Josephson, Ernst
Alternative names
Short description	Swedish artist
Date of birth	16 April 1851
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Date of death	22 November 1906
Place of death	Stockholm, Sweden

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.