This charming mid-20th-century oil painting by Swedish artist Gösta Sundvall (1900-1957) depicts two gentlemen resting on a sunlit back street in Cadaqués, Spain. It was painted during his stay in 1950-1956.

Cadaqués has a rich artistic heritage with numerous artists living and working there over the decades including Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Marcel Duchamp. It’s located in the province of Girona, Catalonia, and known for its extraordinary weather and unusual luminous sunsets. It’s said that the wind arrives with such ferocity that it creates the effect of near-sea sickness. It’s been cited as causing insanity due to the resulting sudden change in air pressure. In jest, locals refer to those who are “touched by the Tramontana (northern wind)”.

Maybe Dali and Picasso flourished in these erratic conditions, for there’s a little madness in every good artist.

Sundvall trained at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm and achieved a scholarship in 1935. He exhibited regularly in Stockholm and he’s represented in several public collections including the National Museum and Stockholm’s City Museum.

Signed, dated and framed.

Learn more about Gösta Sundvall in our directory.

Medium: Oil on board
Overall size: 16” x 19½” / 41cm x 49cm
Year of creation: 1952
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some light wear.