Tag: portraiture

The Wrestlers

Photographer Unknown, The Wrestlers

“While serving one of his countless sentences of imprisonment, he was given ex-wrestler Paul as cell companion. Paul was at that time a dock worker; he was in jail for having, during a strike riot, remembered his professional past and applied the grip known as a double Nelson to a policeman. This grip consisted in passing one’s arms through the opponent’s arm­pits from behind, locking one’s hands behind his neck, and pressing his head down until the neck vertebra began to crack. In the ring this had always brought him considerable applause, but he had learned to his regret that in the class struggle the double Nelson was not done.”

–Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon

Italo Calvino: “A Vague Murmur: The Sea”

Photographer Unknown, (Soft Morning Light)

“There is the moment when the silence of the countryside gathers in the ear and breaks into a myriad of sounds:a croaking and squeaking, a swift rustle in the grass, a plop in the water, a pattering on earth and pebbles, and high above all, the call of the cicada, The sounds follow one another, and the ear eventually discerns more and more of them -just as fingers unwinding a ball of wool feel each fiber interwoven with progressively thinner and less palpable threads, The frogs continue croaking in the background without changing the flow of sounds, just as light does not vary from the continues winking of stars, But at every rise or fall of the wind every sound changes and is renewed. All that remains in the inner recess of the ear is a vague murmur: the sea.” 

—Italo Calvino, The Baron in the Trees, 1957

 

Per Elof Nilsson Ricklund

Per Elof Nilsson Ricklund, “Two Sides of a Coin”, Oil on Canvas

Per Elof Nilsson Ricklund was born in 1987, in Örnsköldsvik, a small town in northern Sweden. Surrounded by vast mountains, also painted by his grandparents, and inspired by the magical atmosphere of the landscape and people around him, Per Elof began drawing at a young age. He became interested in conveying stories that were more than the visual experience he actually perceived. Discovering that his eyes weren’t sharp enough to recreate a convincing reality, he began searching for people who were willing to share their knowledge, first by studying illustration, and later the 19th century masters. It was then that he understood only in nature would he find a way to convey a story as truthfully as he perceived it.

He began his studies at The Florence Academy of Art in 2007, where he was awarded Best Figure Painting of the Year for 2010 and 2011, as well as Honorable mention for Advanced Portrait Painting in 2011. By his second year he began teaching Anatomy in Mölndal before moving to Florence to direct the Anatomy and Ecorché programs there.