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Died 8 January 1928, Solna Municipality, Sweden | ||
Axel Tallberg (1860–1928) was a Swedish visual artist and engraver. He is remembered for his etching course at the Royal Swedish Academy of Art and for his portraits, including those of King Oscar II, Leo Tolstoy and Theodore Roosevelt.
Biography
Born in Gävle on 23 September 1860, Tallberg was the son of Carl Erik Tallberg, a metalworker, and his wife Kristina Johansson. After graduating at the Royal Swedish Academy of Art (1878–82), he spent a year in Düsseldorf, perfecting his landscaping technique, especially the use of watercolours. Soon afterwards he turned to etching, spending some time studying abroad. After visiting Italy, France, Spain, North Africa and Germany, he went to England where he resided in [[ Burnham, Buckinghamshire|Burnham]] to the west of London (1889–95). There he associated with Swedish etchers.
Back in Sweden, he specialized in etching, teaching an etching course at the Swedish Academy of Art in 1895. Building on the work of Carl Larsson, he became an influential figure for Swedish artists. In 1909, a School of Etching was created at the Academy. He taught there until 1926, gaining the status of professor in 1919. Most of the well-known Swedish etchers studied under him for varying lengths of time. Also in 1895, he founded the journal Förgät-mig-ej (Forget-me-not) which he subsequently edited. From 1902, he was Scandinavia's correspondent to the English art journal The Studio.
Axel Tallberg died on 8 January 1928 in Solna.