Carl Wahlbom
Johan Wilhelm Carl Wahlbom (16 October 1810 - 25 April 1858) was a Swedish painter, illustrator and sculptor.
Biography
His father, Adolf, was a pastor and professor and his grandfather,
After his father died in 1828, he was forced to find employment as a teacher at the
Despite Boije's support and living with Westin, he found himself in financial difficulties and had to quit the Royal Academy in 1833. After that, he supported himself with his illustrations and occasional work as a gym teacher, although he did take some time to study anatomy with
In Paris and Rome
Funds were scarce in Paris, and the local publishers were not interested in his drawings. Aubert et Cie. offered to give him work if he would do pictures of pretty girls. Finally, through the Swedish ministry, he made contact with Count Adolf Eugène von Rosen who was able to find him work with an English publisher who was planning a translation of Gustaf II Adolfs Historia by Anders Fryxell. Wahlbom travelled to Germany and made extensive preliminary sketches but, upon his return, was told that the publisher had gone out of business. He managed to sell his drawings to an art dealer.
He began painting in oils and, with a recommendation from Olof Johan Södermark, a military officer who was a part-time painter, he was able to receive lessons from Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Despite a glowing letter of praise from Winterhalter, another attempt to get a scholarship from the Royal Academy was a failure. However, in 1842, they named him an "agré" (a type of member candidate) and received a stipendium.
Battle of Lützen
In 1843, he decided to try his luck in Rome, where he found a position in the studios of
At this time, his health had begun to worsen. In 1852, upon his doctor's recommendation, he spent the winter in Brussels. The following year, he went again to Paris, but his illness prevented him from painting for long periods. An attempt to display some of his works at the Salon was not successful. Soon after, he and a friend went to Rome and he acquired a studio on the Via della Purificazione, in the art district. Once more, he was unable to paint for long periods due to attacks of gout.[4]
Final years and death
When his mentor, Westin, left the academy, Wahlbom was named to replace him but, shortly after the appointment, he was found on the floor of a hotel room, unconscious from a stroke. He spent nine months at the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, unable to move his left side or lift his right arm. Accompanied by a nurse, he travelled to Lyon for treatment, then to London to receive an experimental electrical treatment invented by a certain M. Beckensteiner. He remained in London, a shadow of his former self, and received numerous visits from his friends. He was preparing to return to Sweden when he was diagnosed with kidney disease. In April, he died after a series of strokes and was buried at the Brookwood Cemetery in Woking.
His works may be seen at the
References
Further reading
- Cederlöf, Olle: Vapen och konsthistoria : Wahlbom och Leonardo-traditionen, 1959
- Loos, Viggo: Carl Wahlbom, Allhems konstböcker series, 1949
- Svenskt konstnärslexikon Part V, pgs. 544–546, Allhems Förlag, Malmö.
External links
- More works by Wahlbom @ ArtNet
- Johan Wilhelm Karl Wahlbom 1810-1857. En konsthistorisk studie, by Karl Wåhlin @ Project Runeberg
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