Alf Wallander
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An Art Nouveau glazed ceramic vase, Rörstrand, Sweden 1895-96.
Decorated in high relief with a modeled magpie among pine branches, richly painted in blue, green and brown. Signed A. WALLANDER, height 34,5 cm.
Some cracks around the base and glaze crazing.
Exhibitions
The exhibition hall of Svenska Slöjdföreningen (The Swedish Handicraft Association), Stockholm, April 1896. This was Alf Wallander's first public ceramics exhibition. The collection consisted of 28 objects in flint or white-burning clay, made in a powerful relief, painted in strong shades of blue, green, yellow and red under the glaze.
Literature
Bengt Nyström, "Svensk jugendkeramik", Signum, Lund 2003, see the vase illustrated p 68.
Designer
Alf Wallander was a Swedish painter, ceramicist, and glass designer born in Stockholm. At the age of 15, he began studying at the "Slöjdskolan" in Stockholm, and he later studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and then in Paris from 1885 to 1889.
Wallander was a highly versatile artist and influenced by the spirit of the times around the turn of the century, he was inspired by the author Ellen Key's philosophy of "Beauty for All" and the British Arts & Crafts movement, which can be seen in Wallander's designs for furniture, textiles, glass, and ceramics. Wallander was associated with the Rörstrand Porcelain Factory from 1895 and gained recognition for his Art Nouveau ceramics as early as 1896, later being appointed artistic director at Rörstrand in 1900. From 1907 to 1911, Wallander was associated with the Kosta Glassworks as a designer. Alongside Gunnar G. Wennerberg, Alf Wallander was one of the dominant designers in Sweden during the Art Nouveau period.