LEANDER ENGSTRÖM. Still life with fruit bowl, books and bottle.

Oil on canvas, 52.5 x 73.5 cm, including frame 62 x 83 cm. Signed Leander Engström. With inscription on reverse: “H.G.50", and “Gustav Wiklund”. PROVENANCE Konsthandel Claes Hultberg AB, Stockholm. Leander Engström (1886–1927), primarily known for his colorful landscapes of Northern Sweden and his participation in the Swedish modernist breakthrough, shows another, more collected side of his artistry in the auction's still life. Here we encounter a scene filled with stillness, balance and reflection, where each object seems carefully selected and composed. Born in Northern Sweden, Leander Engström, raised in poor conditions, sought refuge in Stockholm at the urging of Helmer Osslund. There he was accepted into Konstnärsförbundets skola and managed to get one of only a few places. Leander quickly joined the group of young Swedish modernists who set their sights on Paris. It soon became clear that a trip to the French art metropolis was inevitable in order to continue developing in step with the new trends of the time, and at the end of 1908 Leander Engström arrived in Paris for the first time. He enrolled at the Académie Matisse, along with Isaac Grünewald, Sigrid Hjertén, Carl Palme and Einar Jolin, among others. It was the boldest and most radical school in Paris, where the students' work was seen by Henri Matisse himself. Since studies at the academy were so free, there was time for the students to visit museums, exhibitions and galleries. In a vibrant city like cosmopolitan Paris, there was always more to discover, and for Leander, the encounter with masters such as Gauguin, Cézanne and van Gogh was particularly significant for his development. The auction's “Still Life with Fruit Bowl, Books and Bottle” is composed like a classic still life. The color scale is subdued but refined – in pale blue tones, dull ochre yellow and earthy red shades. The light is soft and evenly distributed, creating an almost dreamlike atmosphere. The moving pages of the open book create a sense of presence – is it a gust of wind blowing through the room or someone who has just left the room? The brushwork is light and prismatic, with a structural structure reminiscent of Cézanne's influence – not least in how the volumes are broken down into geometric shapes and planes. The still life is a relatively rare motif for Leander Engström, who is otherwise more associated with expressionist landscapes from Norrland or expressive portraits. Here we instead get to see a work where his artistic sense for composition, form and colour is revealed in a more introspective format. There is a clear respect for the beauty of everyday things – and a reverence for stillness. It is a work that breathes both Nordic calm and continental avant-garde.

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52.5 × 73.5 cm