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Gosse med snäcka
© Tora Vega Holmström/Bildupphovsrätt 2026
Gosse med snäcka
Gosse med snäcka
Photo: Tobias Fischer/Moderna Museet

Gosse med snäcka

by Tora Vega Holmström
Artist (Sverige, 1880 - 1967)
Alternate Title
  • Boy with Seashell
Date1918
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsBildmått: 47,5 × 45,5 cm Yttermått: 50,3 × 48,2 × 2,5 cm
Classification
Countries
Credit LineÖverförd 1924 från Konstnärshjälpen
Object NumberNM 2440
The artwork is not on display
About the artwork Tora Vega Holmström is one of the most important early-20th-century Swedish modernists. Her practice is characterized by an openness to different painterly approaches. She was born in Scania, which remained her base, but she travelled frequently – to Germany, France, Finland and Algeria. In the early 1910s, Tora Vega Holmström painted in bright colours and a mosaic-like style. Towards the end of the decade, she migrated towards paler colours and a more subtle style. Boy with Seashell was painted in several versions in 1918 during a stay in Vindeln, Västerbotten. The war years may have influenced her style by triggering a longing for eternal values. The seashell could be interpreted as a secretive symbol of infinity and eternity. The paintings from this period reveal a kinship with Italian fresco painting, which Holmström had studied in Florence in 1910. Signatures, inscriptions and marks Signerad "T.V.H." Selected exhibition history 10 historier - svensk konst 1910-1945 ur Moderna Museets samling (2007) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Mannen med det blå ansiktet (den 15 maj 2021 - den 30 januari 2022) Moderna Museet Malmö Tora Vega Holmström - Jag längtar till överallt i världen (den 6 juni 2014 - den 31 augusti 2014) Moderna Museet Malmö The Moderna Museet exhibition catalogues 10 historier : svensk konst 1910-1945 ur Moderna Museets samling : [2/6 - 9/9 2007]