Mid 20th century art

Art in the Nordic countries and Sweden around the mid-20th century is marked by a pronounced sense of concentration and depth. In the post-war period, artists worked in a landscape where modernism was no longer a radical rupture but an established language—reshaped, refined, and individualized. The result is a form of painting in which tradition and renewal coexist, often with a clear focus on structure, color, and the internal logic of the image.
During this period, the world of motifs becomes noticeably simplified. Cityscapes, harbors, villages, and interiors recur, yet are treated through reduced forms and unified fields of color. Architecture and landscape no longer function merely as depicted environments, but as carriers of rhythm, volume, and balance. Influences from Cubism and Post-Cubism are often discernible, though filtered through a Nordic restraint in which expression rarely becomes aggressive or programmatic.
At the same time, figurative painting deepens psychologically. Human figures are frequently rendered still, inward-looking, and isolated within the pictorial space. Body and face serve as vehicles for mood rather than identity. This subdued seriousness is characteristic of the period and distinguishes Nordic post-war art from more spectacular international movements.
Abstraction makes its presence felt, yet often remains lyrical or structural rather than fully non-figurative. Color, form, and surface are used to build spatiality and movement, not to dissolve the image altogether. The works in this auction reflect this balance between recognition and dissolution—welcome to the art of the mid-20th century.