OLLE HJORTZBERG. “Newly published beech leaves and tulips”, watercolour, signed and dated May 58.

Day dimensions 38 x 26 cm. Frame dimensions 55 x 41 cm.

Olle Hjortzberg (1872—1959) was a Swedish painter and graphic artist, known for his diverse artistry that spanned several art forms, from oil paintings and watercolors to graphic works. He was born in Stockholm and grew up in Linköping, where already as a young man he began painting watercolours and small romantic nature studies, which he sold through a bookshop. Hjortzberg then trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, and subsequently travelled to France, Italy, Greece and Palestine, where he studied older art traditions and drew inspiration from Byzantine and Assyrian art, among others.

Hjortzberg was a prolific artist, both as a portrait painter and landscape painter. His landscape depictions are often muted in color, with a sense of stillness and reflection. Hjortzberg also worked in watercolor painting, where his sense of light and color became particularly prominent. The watercolors were more intimate in their character, and often they had a poetic, almost dreamlike quality. He was also active as a graphic artist and made several stamp designs, as well as the poster for the 1912 Summer Olympics. His graphic work is characterized by a strong alignment and a sense of detail.

His artistic development and work made him a central figure in Swedish art life during the 20th century. Hjortzberg was a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts and his work spans a wide range, from traditional portraits and landscapes to more experimental and stylistically innovative works. His art is today represented in several major museums, including Nationalmuseum, Moderna Museet and Gothenburg Museum of Art.