Cubism in Sweden – from experimental to moderate

In this article, examples of various forms of cubism practiced by Swedish artists are described and analyzed regarding form, content and reception in the field. A certain emphasis is placed on female artists, since there is a need for differencing the narrative of modernism regarding women’s contributions, often disregarded in their own contexts as well as in the writing of art history. Attention has also been paid to changing notions of cubism in the field of art. In the early years of cubism, from the 1910s, a considerable number of Swedish artists experimented enthusiastically with prismatic and other cubist effects in their paintings. Many of them went to Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen to see the new art, and brought new ideas to Sweden. For most of the artists who experimented with different kinds of cubism, it was a temporary activity, although many of them felt they had acquired new insights concerning artistic form. Some of them further developed their findings into new directions of modernist art, such as post-cubism, purism and concrete art. Women artists were active in all of these movements. The art market in Stockholm thrived in the 1910s and 1920s. Several of the art critics and large parts of the art audience had difficulties understanding cubism, and rejected the non-figurative art exhibited at the Stockholm exhibition in 1930. However, most Swedish cubism proved to be of a moderate sort, such as the works by Georg Pauli. On the other hand, Agnes Cleve, Siri Derkert, Gösta Adrian-Nilsson (GAN), and Otto G. Carlsund never ceased to generate bold forms and compositions. Regardless, it took a long time for Swedish art audiences to accept this form of visual art.