Albertus Pictor - our foremost medieval artist

The 15th century can be said to be the era of mural painting in Sweden. All over the country, church walls and vaults were decorated with numerous and often colourful pictures with motifs from both the Bible and everyday life of the common people. Later on, the Reformation led to a change in church ideals in a more pared-down direction, so that in many cases the works of art were renovated away. In the 18th century, medieval paintings also began to be perceived as vulgar, which led to many of them being whitewashed. In some churches, however, we can still see the wealth of medieval imagery today, either because the paintings have been left alone or because they have been freed from obscuring layers of plaster.

One of the 15th century artists who left the strongest legacy is Albertus Pictor (Albrekt Målare), who decorated more than 30 churches, mainly in Uppland, Västmanland and Södermanland. The fact that several of them have escaped being the victims of calcification testifies to the fact that his distinctive style was appreciated and considered worthy of protection. Today we have reason to be grateful for this. Pictor's extremely rich pictorial world is a fantastic source of knowledge about living conditions in medieval Sweden, while the churches he decorated are outstanding sights.

Om Albertus Pictors bakgrund vet vi föga, men sannolikt föddes han på 1440-talet. Mycket tyder på att han som ung vuxen kom till Sverige från Tyskland. I några kyrkor har han lämnat efter sig signaturen “Albertus Ymmenhausen”, vilket antyder att han hade sina rötter i något av de tyska samhällen som under medeltiden kallades Immenhausen. Det skulle i sådana fall kunna förklara hans speciella stil, med en livfullhet och färgbearbetning som vid den tiden var ovanlig i Norden. Kanske hade han gått i lära någonstans ute på kontinenten innan han av någon anledning flyttade norrut.

Pictor verkar först ha varit bosatt i Arboga, där han 1465 registrerades som borgare. I Stockholms jordebok omtalas han första gången 1473, då han gifter sig med “Johan målares änka” och låter hennes barn få ut sitt fädernearv. Kanske var giftermålet ett sätt att överta en plats som målarmästare i staden, samtidigt som änkans försörjning tryggades. Med i boet förde hustrun ett hus vid Norreport, som blev makarnas hem.

Mellan 1479 och 1508 omnämns Pictor vid tio tillfällen i Stockholms tänkeböcker. Han kallas ömson “målare”, ömson “pärlstickare”, vilket innebär att hans konstutövning innefattat både kyrkomålning och pärlbroderi. Det finns även en notering om att han spelat orgel på en begravningsmässa i Storkyrkan. Han förefaller således ha varit en man med många begåvningar. Skattelängden vittnar också om att hans inkomster var högre än för andra inom samma skrå. 1507, då han måste ha varit närmare 70 år, beskrivs att han “på sängen ligger städse” av sjukdom, så att han måste företrädas av sin hustru i ett tvistemål. 1509 markeras hans namn med ett streck i Stockholms stads skottebok, vilket förmodligen ska tolkas som att han avlidit. Hustrun Anna finns dock kvar i skriftliga källor fram till 1522.

Pictor's style and technique differ considerably from what was customary in Swedish churches during his lifetime. Often glazes are layered on top of each other to create depth. The level of detail is also unusual. Clothing folds, locks of hair shift in different shades, and people are depicted in mid-natural movement. Facial features are varied and expressive in a way rarely seen in Scandinavian art of this period.

What has made Pictor famous and appreciated, however, is not only his distinctive expression, but also his expansiveness. Many of the churches have been furnished with an astonishing profusion of images. No space has been left empty; the space between the pictures is filled with stenciled ornaments, while the picture fields are delimited by borders. Perhaps the prime example of this immoderation is Härkeberga Church, where the walls and ceiling are completely teeming with figures. 

Pictor seems to have used the Biblia Pauperum (Bible of the Poor) for his help, as some of his motifs resemble the book's illustrations. However, it is clear that the artist and his apprentices sometimes had difficulty in rendering the unfamiliar settings. Painting a whale fish or a camel is perhaps not so easy if you have no more than vague ideas of what they look like, and in some cases it is clear that the artists have fantasised freely. The clothes and features of the people are more typical of Swedish farming society than of the people of the Bible, and strange imaginary animals prowl the corners.

En annan av Pictors mest kända kyrkor finns i Täby. Även här är interiören översållad av figurer, men mest omtalad är skildringen av en man som spelar schack med döden. “Jag spelar dig matt” har det stått ovanför bilden och vi kan se hur mannen förfärad tar sig för bröstet när han inser att spelet är förlorat. Döden grinar däremot belåtet. Som barn såg filmskaparen Ingmar Bergman denna målning och blev så gripen att han senare i livet använde den som inspiration till filmen Det sjunde inseglet.

Pictor devised a particular pattern for the distribution of motifs, which he repeated in several churches. The New Testament images run along the walls of the nave, while scenes from the Old Testament are depicted in the vaulted ceilings. In the nave there are images with moralising messages and more profane imagery. There are frequent warnings about gambling, drunkenness and sorcery. The viewer sees people playing medieval musical instruments, while the world of thought of the time becomes clear in motifs taken from folklore. In Härkeberga Church, for example, a milk hare is seen vomiting up stolen milk in a vessel.

The image set also contains repetitions. One motif that recurs in several churches is the wheel of life, which depicts a man struggling upwards towards the proud pinnacle of life, only to plummet downwards, old and weak, towards the awaiting death. In his hand, Death carries a shovel, indicating that he is ready to dig the man's grave. Judgement Day, when the dead rise from their graves, is another recurring theme, portrayed with fervour. One version even depicts a man scraping dirt out of one ear as he leaves the cemetery.

In the Middle Ages, when few people were literate and sermons were preached in Latin, images must have been very important to churchgoers. In an otherwise image-poor world, it must have been a powerful experience to enter the churches that Pictor decorated. What value Pictor's paintings had for the people of the time and how they were viewed we may not even understand. But even today we can be overwhelmed by his soulful narrative and dramatic scenes. The paintings are now half a millennium old, but continue to fascinate and bring new messages to modern man.

I Lids kyrka i Nyköping har Pictor lämnat en signatur i form av ett självporträtt. Bilden är kraftigt nött, men det går ändå att urskilja en proper man i välskuren rock, hosor och snabelskor, allt enligt tidens mode. Ansiktet ramas in av ett tjockt hårsvall och ovanför huvudet finns en slinga med texten “Minns mig, Albertus, denna kyrkas målare” på latin. Det är en extravagant 1400-talsselfie, även om konstnären ödmjukar sig genom att knäböja i en bedjande position.

With today's perspective on his life's work, we can probably say that Pictor deserves admiration. In total, he has left behind hundreds of square metres of painted surfaces, which contain a magnificent treasure trove of images. Few, if any, would better deserve to be regarded as Sweden's greatest medieval artist, and his plea to be remembered is worth continuing to hear.

Footnote: There are currently 36 churches with paintings attributed to Albertus Pictor. However, the condition varies. His art is best experienced in the six churches where the pictures have never been painted over: Härkeberga, Härnevi, Odensala, Täby, Floda and Kumla kyrkby.

Read more: 

https://historiesajten.se/visainfo.asp?id=635

https://popularhistoria.se/kultur/konst/konstnarer/medeltida-mastaren-albertus-pictor

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=5647

http://christermalmberg.se/pictor/index.php

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