Helmer Osslund, Höbärgning, Bodacke, Indalsälven, oil on canvas,
132 x 80 cm, signed HELM. OSSLUND.

Helmer Osslund
The River's Path


Opening hours Mon – Fri 10–18 Sat 12–16

 
 

In Helmer Osslund's (1866–1938) art, the wild northern river is a recurring motif, and its wealth of variation and constant movement can be compared to Osslund's artistry as such. In this exhibition we follow the river's path through seasonal changes and changing landscapes from the far north of Sweden to central Norrland and the High Coast. We encounter the paintings of the north born Osslund through movements up and down through the Norrland landscape, following the river paths. From the calmest waters to rushing water and towering masses of clouds, bluish ridges, glaciers, thin birches and twisted pines, Osslund’s imagery moves from a realism in his early works, to post-impressionism and Art Nouveau, to colourful expressionism. The paintings have an inherent rhythm that conveys an almost meditative mood in motifs of the river's spring, summer and autumn flow. The speed of the water from the mountains to the coast varies from a slow pace during low flows to a rushing speed during spring floods. We see the river landscape in Osslund's depictions change from the calm colour scale and shades of green and blue-green tones of summer to the intense colours of autumn. The artist sees the river as more than a source for nature studies and highlights it as a natural force, essence and symbol.

Osslund's production is extensive and varied in form and colour palette. All year round and in all weathers, he took on views from high and low vantage points. It was the river landscape in his home region of Medelpad that became his primary object of study after moving back to Norrland.

His plein air paintings are often small and painted with oil on greaseproof paper, and to create larger paintings, he painted on several sheets and attached them when mounting the image onto a panel or canvas. In his style of painting, we see the decorative elements with their ornamental lines that are prominent in his Art Nouveau-inspired painting decrease towards the 1920s and be replaced by a coarser brushwork that came to characterize his later work.

 
 

Click to read the catalogue

READ THE CATALOGUE HERE (IN SWEDISH)

 
 

Selected Works

Helmer Osslund, Från Ådalen,
Olja på smörpapper uppklistrat på papp-pannå, 45 x 80,5 cm,
signerad Helmer OSSLUND. Utförd omkr 1924.

From Ådalen

In the painting From Ådalen, Helmer Osslund lets the viewer glimpse the region’s process of industrialization. Suddenly, a tall, slender chimney rises from the breathtakingly beautiful landscape, through which the Ångerman River winds in great meandering curves like a shimmering blue ribbon. Smoke from the chimney climbs straight into the sky and is swiftly drawn into the scattered clouds drifting across the evening sky. This sense of suction is reinforced by three bright, broad brushstrokes the artist has drawn diagonally across the river’s wide surface. At the same time, this creates a greater depth in the composition, giving the already expansive view a distinctly monumental quality. The painting’s dark tonalities strike a wistful note, yet the richness of values in the river’s gently flowing waters significantly lightens the mood. It is a powerful and atmospheric painting, in which the nature of Norrland still reigns over the emerging industrial society.

Helmer Osslund,View over the Indalsälven River,
Oil on paper mounted on panel, 50 x 70 cm,
signed Helmer OSSLUND.

View over the
Indalsälven River

In the present View over the Indalsälven River, the vista is recognizable from several of Osslund’s earlier works, but here the artist has rendered it in a panoramic format and has also positioned himself even further away from the valley floor. The fertile mountain slopes above the riverbanks are once again visible, and their cultivation by local farmers is evident from the farm buildings placed at the center of the composition. As before, the artist allows the presence of the local inhabitants to be felt. Here, it is represented by two figures he has so carefully positioned in the foreground: a farm woman with a basket on her arm, and a small boy standing beside the birches at the far right of the image.

View over the Indalsälven River, with its rustic character and warm palette, conveys a different mood than earlier works. Here, late summer has given way to autumn, the harvests have already been gathered, and the foliage of the trees has begun to turn yellow. Life on the farm has entered a calmer phase, and nature seems to be preparing itself for a long period of rest.

Helmer Osslund, Forsmoforsen, Oil on paper mounted on cardboard panel
46 x 98 cm, signed Helmer Osslund.

Forsmoforsen

In the dramatic Forsmoforsen, the shapes of the foreground trees echo throughout the landscape, lending the painting an ornamentally decorative character. Osslund convincingly captured the speed of the rushing water through his masterful use of color and brushwork. The elegant handling of the timber logs within the composition testifies to his understanding of the river’s dual role: both as part of a beautiful natural scene and as a vital transport route to the coastal sawmills. The water, rushing and foaming, comes alive in his brushstrokes, where both movement and the force of nature are conveyed.

Forsmo, the village in Ed parish in Ångermanland from which Osslund drew his motif, was at this time still an unexploited place. The untamed river, with timber floating downstream, evokes an era before the arrival of hydroelectric power stations—developments that, in Forsmoforsen’s case, came only in 1948. In this way, he skillfully interweaves a decorative rendering of the landscape with the history of Norrland, creating a kind of tapestry in oil paint.

Helmer Osslund, Sunlit Pines, Nordingrå, oil on canvas, 75 x 150 cm, signed Helmer OSSLUND.

Sunlit Pines,
Nordingrå

Sunlit Pines, Nordingrå depicts a section of the breathtakingly beautiful coastline that we today call the High Coast, where Helmer Osslund periodically resided. The motif is taken from one of the heights above Nordingrå, just north or east of Vågsfjärden, from which the artist had a sweeping view toward the northeast.

When painting outdoors, Osslund preferred to use small panels or pre-cut sheets of oiled paper as his support. The oiled paper was easy to carry, dried quickly, and could easily be joined together and/or mounted on a sturdier support afterward. The best and most sought-after of these oiled paper compositions he later reworked into larger oil paintings. Sunlit Pines, Nordingrå is, in all likelihood, one such example.

 
 

See the artworks in our online gallery

 
 

Welcome

opening hours:

monday-friday 10-18
saturday 12-16

BIRGER JARLSGATAN 14, 114 34 STOCKHOLM, +46 (0)8 611 41 93, INFO@AMELLS.COM