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Stencil painting in Hälsingland in the 19th century
Gärd Folkesdotter, Ph D
Many
stencil paintings have been preserved in Hälsingland. Stencilling is based
on the technique of cutting or stamping holes to make patterns in a template,
usually of thin cardboard, and then using it as an aid in painting. The
technique is very old and has been used in Sweden at least since the Middle
Ages. Its heyday in Hälsingland was in the 19th century. Many farms have
such painting on interior walls, but sometimes also on floors, ceilings,
roller blinds and furniture.
Various types of base and paint have been used. Distemper painting on paper, glued onto linen, seems to be the most common, but painting of woven cloth and on planed wooden panels is also seen. Sometimes the painting has been done on plaster, for example a chimney-piece or fireplace. There are several variations of cornice or border. On wooden cornices, there are borders painted directly onto the base coat of the wood, there are pre-printed borders which have been stuck onto stencilled walls, and there are borders painted onto the back of thin wallpaper, which has then been hung.
Stencilling was combined with other painting, with printed wallpaper and borders, often in the same room. By the end of the 19th century, printed wallpaper was cheaper and more common. Stencils were used less, but their use continued into the 20th century. Stencilling has undergone a renaissance in recent years, and patterns can be purchased at the County Museum and other museums in Gävleborg County. It is also possible to make one's own patterns.
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| Stencilled pattern in Ytteryg in Färila. Compare with the template! |
There are many types of stencil pattern, from those with one stencil to more intricate patterns, where up to ten different shapes are used, for example in flower borders. Simpler patterns, with one or a few stencils, were usually used in porches and areas of that type, while the festival cottage - used for parties and gatherings - was given a more complex design.
Who made these interiors?
The Hälsingland farms contain interiors painted by academically schooled artists, by painters who had learned the trade from master painters, and by those who were self-taught. The painters are to a striking extent soldiers or their sons, which is to say people who were some sort of middle class in a parish. The Dalecarlia painters were particularly active in the Voxna valley and Regnsjö, wandering from farm to farm offering their services. Their wives and children sometimes took part in the work.
Cornice from Per-Mårts in Undervik Heritage Centre
Jonas Wallström
Jonas Wallström (1798-1862) was a very skilled painter, who painted numerous interiors himself and probably inspired others. He was born in Vallsta in Arbrå parish and returned to his home village after training. Jonas Wallström spent the years 1814-1821 in Hudiksvall, probably as an apprentice painter. He moved back to Arbrå in 1821 and had the title journeyman painter. A couple of years later, he was in Stockholm, and spent time with C F Torsselius, who was one of the best-known wall painters in Stockholm.
Jonas Wallström moved back to Vallsta, married, and built himself a house near his childhood home. He was friendly with other painters in the district, for example Olof Hofrén (1813-1856) and Anders Åsberg (1779-1864). Olof Hofrén trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and did most of his work on church interiors. Anders Åberg was a jack-of-all-trades, a carpenter, and a self-taught painter.
Jonas Wallström renovated paintings by Paul Hallberg at Wallingården farm, Växbo No. 10, in Bollnäs parish in the year 1842. He probably also painted the stencils in a room on the bottom floor. Some of these stencils were probably used when he painted Gästgivars in Vallsta village, Arbrå parish. He also painted three rooms in Per-Mårtsgården farm in Undersvik in 1854 - those paintings are now at Undersvik Heritage Centre. There are several farms in Arbrå, Undersvik and Bollnäs with paintings that could have been done by Jonas Wallström. He may also have painted elsewhere. Jonas Wallström's stencils are very well-drawn and contain, among other things, palmetto-like leaves and other types of leaves and flowers, more or less stylized. There are lyres and wreaths too. The patterns are attractive both close up and from a distance.
The porch in Wallingården, Växbo
There is painting with strong paint effects but also interiors with classical
column motifs in grey, white and yellow ochre, framing landscapes. Extravagant
borders with drapes, tassels, strings of beads and fringes against a monochrome
panel were common in the 19th century, but Jonas Wallström's interiors
often contained both borders and richly decorated walls. Jonas Wallström
was master of many techniques and freely used various combinations of
printed borders, stencils and free-hand painting.