610. GUSTAF JOHAN FAST (ornamental sculptor and gilder in Stockholm, 1750-1781) attributed, mirror high class Stockholm work in transition, circa 1770, woodcut decor, gilded with matte and polished gold in trois couleurs.

Upturned crown with clam, volutes and acanthus, laurel wreath and festoons suspended in ring and on lenses, beaded frame, lower sash with acanthus and volutes on piqued bottom, faceted and mercury foiled original glass, 120 x 61 cm

LITERATURE: Torsten Sylvén & Elsebeth Welander-Berggren: Mirrors, Mirror Makers and Fabricators in Sweden 1650-1850, Stockholm 2000, page 118
Merit Laine and Carolina Brown: Gustaf Lundberg, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm 2006, page 230, compare frames made in Gustaf Johan Fast's workshop for pastels by Gustaf Lundberg, dated 1775
Stockholms Auktionsverk, Stora Kalitén, spring 2008, no. 2348, compare portrait Gustaf Lundberg's portrait depicting Miss Beata Sparre, mounted in frame executed by Johan Gustaf Fast's sculpture studio and dated 1775
Bo Vahlne: Frihetstidens interiningar på Stockholms Slott - On the Levels of Comfort and Beauty, Stockholm 2012, page 352f, compare door lintel with cut decor by Gustaf Johan Fast

Gustaf Johan Fast (1718-1781) was apprenticed to the sculptor Gottlob Rosenberg until 1744, who had been apprenticed to Burchardt Precht, after which he became an apprentice to the well-known mirror maker Olof Westerberg. During the years 1750-1775, Fast worked on the interior of Stockholm Castle, where he executed door lintels, wall moldings, picture frames and mirrors. In 1776 Fast supplied a pair of frames with sculpture, on behalf of the widowed queen Lovisa Ulrika, and in 1777 decorative works for the organ maker in Maria Church. In 1779-1780 he performed works at Gustav Adolfs torg in both the Opera House and Sophia Albertina's Palace. Gustaf Johan Fast's workshop was located at Klara Västra Kyrkogata.

Through signed frames made for pastels by Gustaf Lundberg, we get an insight into Gustaf Johan Fast's works by private clients. These Gustavian frames have a high quality workmanship in their sculptures and usually have a gilding in trois couleurs, which beautifully defines the various decor elements. The mirror frame of the auction is located in the borderland between the Rococo and the Gustavian era, which is usually referred to as transition. In terms of time, the mirror is also slightly earlier than the frames, where several famous examples have a date around 1775.