Wilhelm von Gegerfelt

born Gothenburg, Sweden, 1844; died Torekov, Sweden, 1920

BiographyIn Swedish art, Wilhelm von Gegerfelt is distinguished as one of the first representatives of the French influenced open-air painting. During the early 1860s Gegerfelt studied at the academies in Copenhagen and Stockholm. While working in Düsseldorf between 1867 and 1872 he became acquainted with the Hungarian artist Mihaly Munkascsy. Together they traveled throughout Holland and Gegerfelt learned the use of bitumen, a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid that created the texture and dramatic contrasts of light evident in his landscapes. From 1872 until 1885 Gegerfelt lived in Paris, where he was considered one of the most important Swedish landscape artists working in Paris. While residing in Paris, he also taught art to several accomplished artists. Throughout his career, Gegerfelt made frequent trips to France’s northern coast as well as Italy, where he painted picturesque sunsets over the canals of Venice and moonlight scenes over lagoons. He returned to Sweden in 1888 and remained there for the rest of his life though he made a number of trips to Venice and other European locales. He painted marine and landscape scenes, genres and interiors.

(Source: Benezit Dictionary of Art; museum files)

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