Wilhelm von Gegerfelt - Canal in Venice

Wilhelm von Gegerfelt (1844–1920) Sweden

Canal in Venice

signed “W. Gegerfelt”
Oil on wood panel, purchased by the artist at Emilio Aickelin, Via 22 Marzo, Venice — a renowned supplier of artists’ materials
unframed: 38 x 26 cm (15 x 10 1/4 in)
framed: 47 x 34.5 cm (18 1/2 x 13 5/8 in)

Essay:
In this luminous canal scene, painted during his stay in Venice in the early 1880s, Wilhelm von Gegerfelt captures the vivid atmosphere and dazzling light of the city with remarkable immediacy. Executed with short, spontaneous brushstrokes and areas of impasto, the painting also reveals the artist’s use of the reverse end of his brush to incise fine details — as seen in the rigging of the sails — a technique famously used by Rembrandt. Gegerfelt lets parts of the warm brown panel remain visible, lending the composition an earthy undertone and enhancing its lively, plein air character.

The painting exemplifies Gegerfelt’s mature style, marked by a refined sensitivity to light, air, and fleeting impressions. As art historian Viggo Loos writes in Friluftsmåleriets genombrott i svensk konst 1860–1885 (1945, p. 254):
“At his best, Gegerfelt attains an impressionistic lightness in his depiction of the interplay of light and atmosphere over canals and lagoons, and a graceful softness in his small studies. In his earliest paintings, one senses a deep infatuation with the southern light, with the tonal interplay of the façades, and with the shifting hues of the intensely blue skies.”

Gegerfelt first visited Venice in 1882, at the same time as Carl Skånberg and Georg Pauli. Like them, he was deeply influenced by the southern light and vibrant street life, which transformed his palette and approach. His Venetian works are often characterized by a looseness and clarity that mark a departure from the academic landscape tradition.

A pivotal figure in Scandinavian art, Gegerfelt helped bridge the gap between the German-inspired romantic landscape painting of the 19th century and the emerging plein air realism of the 1870s. His bold handling of color would inspire artists such as Carl Fredrik Hill, with whom he shared a close friendship during his years in Paris.

After more than a decade in France, Gegerfelt returned to Sweden in 1888, settling first in Uppsala, where he briefly taught Prince Eugen, and later in his native Gothenburg. He spent his summers on Hallands Väderö and in Torekov, where he continued to paint and also took up photography as a creative pursuit.

This painting is a striking and evocative example of Gegerfelt’s Venetian period — a confident, atmospheric work by one of Sweden’s foremost plein air painters.