The Sawmill, December sun

In Esther Almqvist, we meet a female artist who through her paintings gives us reflections and insights into a fascinating life and destiny. She was an artist who in her own way contributed to the breakthrough of modernism in Sweden. In the beginning, she followed the national romantic art style with deep shadows and melancholy mood. A longer period of time after graduation, she lived isolated in the countryside with her mother. When the mother died, Esther broke with her old life, and also with the national romantic ideals. In 1913-14, she creates the shimmering lights and life-affirming paintings that came to characterize her mature artistry. "The sawmill, December sun", dated 1914, is painted in the spirit of van Gogh. The same fiery passion, the same intensity in the spriit of brushwork, the burning midday sun. The technique is almost neo impressionistic. During her life, Esther Almqvist never got no real public appreciation for her art, but four years after her death, in 1938, came the great recognition of the art critics.