Eugène Jansson

Eugène Fredrik Jansson (18 March 1862 – 15 June 1915) was a Swedish painter known for his night-time land- and cityscapes dominated by shades of blue. Towards the end of his life, from about 1904, he mainly painted male nudes. The earlier of these phases has caused him to sometimes be referred to as blåmålaren, "the blue-painter".

Queer commentators have described Jansson as Sweden's first gay artist, a reputation based primarily on his male nudes.

Life

Jansson was born in Stockholm. His parents, Eugenia and Frederik, belonged to a social stratum straddling the working and the lower middle class, but they were interested in art and music and ambitious for their two sons, Eugène and his younger brother Adrian. His father was a postal messenger, and a skilled amateur flautist, while his wife had aspired to be a professional singer and painted still lifes for her own enjoyment. his first trip outside the Nordic countries would come in 1900, when he had already become well-established as a painter and his economic situation had started to improve. In his youth, he assisted Perséus in his portrait production and painted some still lifes, but he eventually found his favourite motifs in the city surrounding him. Perséus was a leader in the Oppenenterna, a group of radical artists who wished to revolutionized cultural life in Sweden, and Jansson, a committed socialist, participated in the movement. He was also a founding memory of the Artists' Union in 1886 which intended to provide an alternative to the Academy and develop artists. He had many friends through his artist groups, including Perséus and Karl Nördstrom. Eugène died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1915.

Gallery