Bror Marklund
Covered by droit de suite
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'Mäster Olof - Spelman'
Signed with initials BM. Numbered 1/6. Inscription on the base: Spelman Mäster Olof. Bronze, light brown patina, height 18 cm.
Provenance
Johan Wallin Collection, Uppsala
Art for the Globe Foundation
Exhibitions
Konstakademien, Stockholm, 2006.
Literature
Eugen Wretholm, "Bror Marklund", Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening, Stockholm, 1973, p. 164.
More information
From the series "Mäster Olof" inspired by August Strindberg.
Alf Sjöberg, the director of Dramaten, commissioned Bror Marklund to create set designs and costumes for the production of the play Mäster Olof at Dramaten in 1972. Sjöberg wanted to collaborate with different visual artists, and this would prove to be a fruitful meeting. It was Marklund's sculpture "Gestalt i storm" from 1964 that had touched and inspired Sjöberg.
Marklund's set design for August Strindberg's early work Mäster Olof consisted of three monumental stone blocks stacked on top of each other. Three colossal steps towards the sky, the unattainable, but also a symbol of the threats from the papal church and the power of the monarchy against the diminished people. Marklund also designed the costumes, which was a significant task considering the cast consisted of nearly thirty people.
"To penetrate into Strindberg's world, I had to make all the characters in plaster. To be able to speak with them, understand them, touch them, and get close to them as individuals." The figures were exhibited at Galleri Gummeson in 1972 and later cast in bronze. Some of these are displayed as public decorations in the park in Minneberg in Traneberg, Bromma since 1990.