Erik Tryggelin

With the impressionist's brushwork and sense of colour, Erik Tryggelin has captured the women at the fish market on Kornhamnstorg on a winter's day over a century ago. It is evening, and the street lamps have begun to light up, their reflections shimmering in the ripples of the water. The spire of the Laurinska house stands out against the blue twilight tones of the sky. The painting in the auction is an intense snapshot that testifies to the artist's attraction to impressionism. Tryggelin sought his way to Paris in the following years, 1911-12, where he executed several impressionistic oil paintings with great technical skill and feeling. The painting in the auction, with its light effects, colour treatment, and contrasts, is an important work in the artist's oeuvre. The painting, which has not previously been offered at auction, is also a unique historical document from Stockholm. In The History of Swedish Photography 1840–1940 (Rittsel/Söderberg, 1983), the artist Erik Tryggelin is described as a social reporter who "always had his camera with him on his constant wanderings in search of motifs. If one wants to know how the people of the turn of the century looked, moved, and were dressed, one should start by looking at Tryggelin's photographs, paintings, and drawings."