01 work, The Art Of The Nude, Carl Wilhelm Wilhelmson's Melusina, with footnotes #226

Carl Wilhelm Wilhelmson, (1866-1928)

Melusina, c. 1917

Oil on Canvas

97 x 168 cm

Private collection

Melusina was a mythical figure from European folklore, a water nymph who is often portrayed with the upper body of a beautiful woman but the lower that of a fish, or serpent. The most complete retelling of what was probably a more ancient legend, dates from the end of the 14th century and recounts how Melusina and her sisters were punished by their mother for imprisoning their father in a mountain as an act of revenge for his failure to keep his promise not to enter her chamber when she was giving birth or bathing her children. Melusina’s singular punishment was for her lower body to become that of a serpent – but only on Saturday. More on Melusina

Carl Wilhelm Wilhelmson (12 November 1866, Fiskebäckskil - 24 September 1928, Gothenburg) was a Swedish painter, graphic artist, amateur photographer and art teacher.

Some relatives were in the printing business so, in 1881, he was apprenticed to the lithographers Meyer & Köster in Gothenburg. He also took evening classes at the School of Design and Crafts. He later became a full time student of Carl Larsson at the Valand Academy.

In 1888 he was awarded a scholarship from the Kommerskollegium that enabled him to travel to Leipzig. While there, he worked for several notable lithography firms. By 1890, he had saved enough money to move to Paris.

In Paris, he worked as an advertising artist while taking classes at the Académie Julian. In 1893, he visited Brittany and, in 1895, had a small showing at the Salon. He returned to Sweden in 1896.

Upon his return, the art patron, Pontus Fürstenberg, invited him to become the Director at the Valand Academy. He accepted and held that position until 1910. After leaving the Academy, he opened his own art school. He made expeditions to Norrland in 1914 and 1918 and produced several well known paintings in Bohuslän. He was appointed a Professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in 1925 and became a member in 1926, in reverse of the usual order.

In addition to his canvases, he painted murals. 

The passenger ferry that operates between Fiskebäckskil and Lysekil is named after him, as is a street in the Lunden district of Gothenburg. Carl Wilhelm Wilhelmson

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