Decorative painting in Hälsingland

The practice of decorating walls with the assistance of stencils was also introduced as a more economical alternative to fashionable, but still very expensive, printed wallpaper.

Hälsingland is considered one of the premier areas for Swedish folk art due to the substantial number of preserved works.

[3] Hälsingland has an abundance of arable land and has good flax cultivation, linen production, and woodlands that provide quality timber.

[4][5][6] In contrast, studies of folk art traditions in other areas of Sweden have shown that an abundance of decorative painting is not necessarily dependent on the accumulation of wealth.

From fragments of text contained on the tapestry, it is the story of king Solomon, but the characters are again dressed in accordance with 16th century Swedish fashion.

[16] Wall painters of the era would apply paint directly onto the wooden surface, although preparations, including filling the crevasses between the logs with a specific species of moss and then covering it with scraps of linen, were common.

Both Jonas Wallström and Olof Hofrén were educated artists proficient in landscape painting who drew columns, where especially Hofren's were true to the classical style.

[25][26] During the early 1770s Dalarna suffered bad harvests, compelling painters from the province to journey eastward in search of work in prospering regions.

[27] Several Dalcarlian painters were active in Gästrikland province from the 1770s onward and during the 19th century their colorful style was in high demand among the rich peasants of Hälsingland.

[28] The Dalcarlian painters who were active in Hälsingland would adjust their choices of both motifs and color palette to some extent, in order to meet the expectations of their new customers.

[32] Initially, Helsingian farmers were content to confine the use of wallpaper to a single room, usually the small chamber of the "parstuga", and at the beginning of the century even this custom was a rare one.

[39] The lack of signatures has led to many of the earlier attributions coming into question, due to dubious analysis and having too keenly favored well-known painters.

[45] Painters fraternized, cooperated, and learned from each other as they plied their trade,[46][47] and, in conjunction with their customers' expectations, local styles, and variations of such, arose and prevailed.

[54] Throughout his career, Reuter would associate with a number of younger painters, retroactively dubbed the "Delsbo School", for safeguarding the stylistic choices of their local tradition.

After attending art school in Stockholm he moved north to Hudiksvall, where he made a name for himself, primarily as a church painter, but he would also decorate farmhouse interiors, Vallingården in Växbo is a prominent example.

[60] Hertman was born and raised in Bollnäs and, according to oral tradition, was an apprentice of local artist Sven Hult in Söderhamn.

[55] Hertman's religious motifs include the baptism, the passion, and the ascension of Jesus, which according to antiquarian Ingemar Svensson contains elements influenced by cultural shifts that presaged the 19th century christian revival.

Many paintings include details from copper engravings reproduced in a Swedish edition of Heinrich Müller's Himmlischer Liebeskuss.

[55] Hertmans interpretation of the Lebenstreppe is displayed at Schols farmhouse in Näsbyn and his passion of Jesus is shown on the walls of the Bollnäs cabin at Skansen.

[65] He continued as a journeyman at Gustaf Söderberg's workshop in Stockholm (1823–1831) and most likely received tutoring from tapestry painter Carl Fredric Torsselius.

[67] The creation and decorative painting of free standing furniture was customary among the peasantry in Hälsingland at an earlier date than in other parts of the country, and became increasingly established during the 17th century.

[76] Uniquely Helsingian was the tradition of decorating the surface of the tables furnishing the great halls, the oldest examples are from the late 16th century.

[22][86] Availability improved during the early and middle 19th century as trade laws were relaxed, and a number of merchants opened new shops in the province.

Wax bars made from boiling animal glue were heated and mixed with chalk to create white paint for the base layer.

[88] Wall paint was applied directly on a wooden surface, on thin linen weave, or, from the 19th century onward, on heavy paper.

[105] Carpentry pieces, including doors and panels, were sometimes subject to graining techniques imitating nobler species of wood.

[105][111] The special properties required of graining paint were ensured by using unconventional binding agents, such as beer, syrup, or dairy products.

[121][122] As academic interest mellowed during the latter part of the 20th century, work on collecting and inventorying was continued by local museums and heritage associations.

[77] Ingemar Svensson and Hilding Mickelsson conducted a large-scale investigation during the 1960s, with support from the Gävleborg Regional Museum and the Gästrike-Hälsinge Heritage Association.

[123][122] Additional inventories were conducted during the late 20th century under the supervision of Kerstin Sinha at the Ljusdal Museum, in cooperation with local heritage associations.