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Arthur KriströmSwedish Waterfall, Stora Sjöfallet , Signed Oil on Canvas, 19211921
1921
About the Item
A large Swedish waterfall, Stora Sjöfallet in Gällivare, signed and dated Arth. Kriström 1921. Oil on canvas. Presented in a dark, carved wooden frame which is period and original. The present painting depicts Stora Sjöfallet in Swedish Lapland, with the powerful falls occupying most of the foreground and the broad mountain landscape extending behind them. The water is rendered with long, energetic brushstrokes in white, pale blue, turquoise and dark green, creating a strong sense of movement. Beyond the falls rises a rugged mountain range with snow remaining on the higher slopes, while the subdued sky occupies the upper part of the composition.
Kriström has treated the landscape in a relatively direct and painterly manner. Rather than attempting a topographically exact rendering, he concentrates on the contrast between the immense volume of falling water, the dark rock formations and the distant mountains. The repeated horizontal and diagonal brushstrokes in the water give the composition considerable movement, while the cooler blue-green and violet tones establish the character of the northern landscape.
The work is signed “Arth. Kriström” and dated 1921, which is an early date within the artist's mature career. The subject is interesting from a historical point of view, as the painting was made at a moment when Stora Sjöfallet was undergoing a major transformation.
Arthur Kriström was born in 1889 in the north of Sweden in Västernorrland and became closely associated with Umeå and Västerbotten where he lived and worked for much of his life. He received his formal artistic education at the Technical School in Umeå and subsequently continued his studies independently, including a period in Stockholm. He also travelled abroad, including a journey to London in 1916. His education was therefore partly institutional and partly based on independent study and travel.
Kriström worked primarily in oil painting, and his subjects included landscapes, animals, marine subjects, still lifes and local views. Västerbottens Museum has many of his works in their collection. The museum describes his typical subjects as animal motifs, marine subjects and still lifes in oil.
His connection with the northern landscape was a continuing feature of his work. Several documented paintings from later decades depict places in Västerbotten and Swedish Lapland.
Kriström worked primarily within the regional Swedish art scene, particularly in Västerbotten and Umeå.
Stora Sjöfallet – the historical landscape
The subject of the present painting has an especially interesting history. Stora Sjöfallet, or Stuor Muorkke in Lule Sámi, lies in the upper Stora Lule River in the mountain region of northern Sweden and today forms part of Stora Sjöfallet/Stuor Muorkke National Park. The area lies within Gällivare Municipality, close to the boundary with Jokkmokk.
Before the regulation of the river system, Stora Sjöfallet consisted of five powerful falls and was regarded as one of the great natural spectacles of northern Europe. It became an important destination for the growing Swedish mountain tourism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The falls were sometimes referred to as “the Niagara of the North.”
The area was designated a national park in 1909, one of Sweden's first national parks. The original purpose was specifically to protect the spectacular waterfall and its surrounding high-mountain landscape.
The date 1921 on Kriström's painting is interesting because only two years earlier, in 1919, the Swedish Parliament had approved the construction of a major dam at Suorva. Parts of the national park were consequently removed from the protected area to permit the regulation of the river system. Construction of the first Suorva dam took place from approximately 1919/20 to 1923.
The painting was consequently made during the years in which this transformation was taking place. It records Stora Sjöfallet at a critical moment in its history, when the waterfall was still an exceptionally powerful natural feature but the hydroelectric development that would dramatically alter its water flow was already under construction.
The subsequent regulations of the Suorva system in 1927, 1939, 1963 and 1966 progressively reduced the natural flow of water through the falls. Today the waterfall remains, but it no longer possesses the volume and force that made it famous during the period depicted by Kriström.
In this respect, the present painting also provides a visual record of Stora Sjöfallet during the final years of the great pre-regulation waterfall, at a time when the site was both a celebrated tourist destination and the subject of an increasingly important conflict between nature conservation and hydroelectric development.
Stora Sjöfallet/Stuor Muorkke is today part of the Laponia World Heritage Site, designated by UNESCO in 1996 for the combined natural and cultural values of the area, including its long-standing Sámi cultural landscape.
- Creator:Arthur Kriström (1889 - 1964, Swedish)
- Creation Year:1921
- Dimensions:Height: 20.87 in (53 cm)Width: 30.32 in (77 cm)Depth: 1.19 in (3 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:In good condition. A light surface cleaning is recommended and we can help provide this.
- Gallery Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2608218612172
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