Ellis Wallin (Swedish 1888-1972) Uppsala Cathedral & St Erik's Spring

Elias "Ellis" Theodor Wallin (1888-1972)
“Uppsala Cathedral & St Erik's Spring”, 1915
Signed and dated in pencil 'Ellis Wallin -15' lower right
Titled indistinctly in Swedish ('Uppsala domkyrka St. Erik's brunn' and numbered '53/100' lower left
Large format etching on buff paper
Published, 1915

Measures:-
49 cm x 41.3 cm (plate)

An original framed large-format etching by the Swedish artist Ellis Wallin. The work depicts the cathedral at Uppsala near Stockholm. The large and ornate well-like structure in the foreground is 'St Erik's Spring' which, according to a gruesome legend, marks the site where the head of the 12th Century King of Sweden Erik Jedvardsson came to rest, following his decapitation at the hands of assassins whilst on his way to worship on 18 May 1160. A spring is said to have miraculously erupted on this spot, the waters from which could cure the sick.

Wallin trained at the Academy of Art in Stockholm before moving on to further study in Paris, where he remained until the 1930's. He exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, Salon d'Automne and Salon des Tuileries between 1927-1933. There are nine works by Ellis Wallin in the National Museum of Sweden.