Olof Thunman – At Dusk, View of Gamla Stan, Stockholm

Olof Thunman (1879–1944), At Dusk, View of Gamla Stan, Stockholm, ink on paper, signed lower right “Olof Thunman,” dimensions: 18.5 × 25.5 cm, signed.

A multi-talented artist, Olof Thunman was simultaneously a poet, painter, draftsman, and composer—a luminous bohemian figure of the Swedish artistic scene at the turn of the century. Trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm between 1902 and 1906, where he received several major distinctions, he developed an early fascination with landscapes.

In this ink drawing, likely executed during his formative years, Thunman offers a misty and almost sonorous vision of Gamla Stan, the historic heart of Stockholm. The smoking chimneys, the slender silhouettes of church spires, and the vibrant surface of the water subtly convey the evening atmosphere of the Swedish capital. Through a meticulous network of hatching and curves, the artist manages to capture the density of the air, the movement of the waves, and the breathing of a city at dusk.

This work, restrained yet rhythmic, reveals a rare graphic sensitivity, where attentive observation of the world combines with an almost musical stylization of the medium. The piece stands as a precious testimony to the still-developing style of an artist who, although later turning away from painting to devote himself to poetry and song, left a lasting mark on his era through a deeply personal vision of the Swedish landscape.