Sunday, August 10, 2008

Who is from Sundborn?

Carl Larsson, one of Sweden's most famous painters, lived in Sundborn, Dalarna. Both he and his wife, Karin, were considered "modern" in their time period...their home was filled with their art work: paintings, furniture, tapestries, embroidery and more! Karin was a truly talented seamstress. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph inside the home (parts of it are still used by their 200 relatives!). It was a fascinating place...I could have spent days inside looking around!

Of course, we had a well guided tour by a young woman who spoke excellent English (as most young Swedes do). Over the doorway Larsson had painted "Welcome to the home of Carl Larsson and his wife!"
The Larsson couple inherited the small farm house from Karin's family but as their family grew and grew (8 children in all) they had to keep enlarging their home! This photo shows several of the additions that were made. Outside to the left children (and adults) could paint on easels just as Larsson did in the same garden...but at 95 kr. ($15 usd) I thought it was a little much for Maya to do since we travel with our own paints anyway!
The sweet country church in Sundborn was painted by Carl Larsson. Here's one of the paintings over the alter. It was a really lovely place!
This summer the theme of the Larsson museum was "Sundborn goes Extreme Again" and I think this decorated bridge had something to do with that exhibit. The roadway is painted like a typical Swedish woven throw rug and there were little knitted scarves wrapped around the fences, lampposts and guard rails all through the town. The banners across the bridge remind me of my friend, Lori's fiber art banners.

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