Erik Olson, "Månsken"
The work is signed and dated 1926, which is probably a later date as the painting is listed in the literature as from 1924, executed in Mayet-d'École.
"Moonlight" is both playful and elegant. One can clearly see the influences from the teacher Léger and his distinctive tubism, a version of cubism where he emphasized cylindrical forms. The imaginative composition and the ambivalent, dynamic space have elements of so-called "impossible figures". The scene is architecturally confined by the geometric facades of the houses framing the motif with the three figures in the foreground and the man on the stairs. Above them, the moon shines on them like a spotlight on a theater stage, with the stars acting as spotlights in the night sky. The work was acquired directly from the artist by postmaster Yngve Dillberg (1885-1972), who was a close friend of several members of the Halmstad group, especially Erik and Axel Olson and Waldemar Lorentzon. Subsequently, "Moonlight" has been inherited within the family and has never been offered for sale before. Yngve and Martha Dillberg were close friends with several members of the Halmstad group, especially Erik Olson, Axel Olson, and Waldemar Lorentzon, and served at times as patrons to the artists.
› Signed and dated Erik.O. 1926. Oil on canvas laid on panel, 47.5 x 25.5 cm. Executed in Mayet 1924.
The work will be sold at Modern Art & Design*
Estimate 1 800 000 - 2 000 000 SEK
Viewing: May 16 – 20, Bukowskis, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Open: weekdays 11 am – 6 pm, weekends 11 am – 4 pm
Live auction: May 21– 22, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm