Philip von Schantz

Philip von Schantz first studied painting with Otte Sköld and then went to Paris for a short education with André Lhôte. Between 1952 and 1958 he studied at the Stockholm Academy of the Arts. After the Stockholm Academy of the Arts in the mid-1950s, Philip von Schantz's breakthrough came in the 1970s with his irresistible and true-to-life still lifes with berries, fruits and roots in white tin bowls, wooden thighs. With printed letters or with simple tools such as rusty grips and shovels.

Philip von Schantz looked back at the older art tradition, with an evident realism. His paintings sometimes border on pure illusionism, in the art world referred to as trompe-l'oeil. It started with motifs of old stained glass windows with lace curtains where you can feel the warm breeze of the summer wind, wooden planks with grain and birch trunks perceived as photographed and large wooden legs with fruit and vegetables. Incredibly skillfully painted, well compared to many of the old masters' Nature morte from the 17th century, the Spanish Luis Melendéz, the Flemish Osias Beert to name a few.

For Philip von Schantz, Gåsvik by Väddö canal was an essential source of inspiration where he and his wife Britta spent their summers from 1953 and where he came to build a studio which he moved into in 1988. At Gåsvik, nature was present with everything it offered, primaries, fruit and berries. Here he developed new motifs for his pictures, landscapes by the canal with pots and trophies that created refined visual illusions for the viewer.

In addition to being an artist, Philip von Schantz has been of great importance to Swedish art life in various contexts. He was a graphic art professor at the Academy of Fine Arts between 1963–1973 and director of Moderna Museet between 1973–1977. In the years 1972–1988, he was chairman of the Association for Graphic Arts, and between 1987 and 1993 he was president of the Academy of Fine Arts.

This online auction includes 29 works from the artist's estate and extends from the 1950s to the 1990s.