Philip von Schantz

Philip von Schantz studied painting with Otte Sköld and then moved to Paris to study with André Lhôte. Between 1952 and 1958 he studied at the Stockholm Academy of the Arts. During the 1970s, he became very popular with the general public who found his still lifes irresistible and true to nature.

Modern artists often, at this time, tried to find "the image itself" and avoided the narrative and iconographic depiction. Many also chose not to depict things exactly, but focused on using them in their painting to give them a realistic meaning.

Philip von Schantz went against this prevailing modern thought and came to look back at the older tradition, where a sharp realism was the important thing. His paintings sometimes border on pure illusionism, in the art world referred to as trompe-l’oeil.

With objective appearance and crystal clear realism, Philip von Schantz creates from the 1970s onwards astonishing and fascinating paintings, which with their roots in art history attract the audience. The motifs are dominated by buckets, bowls and large wooden boxes with fruits and vegetables.

In the mid-1970s, the great breakthrough came with the berry motifs, buckets, buckets and wooden boxes, to the shore overflowing with various berries and fruits. Philip von Schantz meticulously paints berry after berry, with patience and conviction that the truth is precisely the exact image.