Lot 46: Kyrkan i Arild, Sverige (The church in Arild, Sweden)

Agnes Cleve (Swedish, 1876-1951) Kyrkan i Arild, Sverige (The church in Arild, Sweden) signed and dated 'A Cleve - 32' (lower left) oil on canvas laid down on panel 29¾ x 22¾ in. (75.5 x 57.5 cm.) Painted in 1932

An idyllic fishing village south of Göteborg, Arild was a favourite destination for Agnes Cleve, who painted its characteristically 'tapped' chapel on several occasions. The painting is highly stylised, with only basic shapes used, and evident brushstrokes are employed to emphasise movement and mood. The bright white walls of the building and its red roof stand out against the blue and green shades of the slender trees and bushes next to it, and contrast the dark silhouettes of a man and a young child walking up the hill to the right. It is not so much the church itself that Cleve is interested in, as the atmosphere and light of dusk. While adopting the style of the German Expressionists (Cleve was close friends with Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter), a distinctly Nordic touch is evident in the work, as the architecture of both the church and the red-roofed wooden house on the hill in the background draws attention to the building style prevalent in Sweden at the time.