<p>The present dissertation deals with the artistry of the Swedish artist Vera Frisén (1910-1990). The emphasis is being put on her landscape paintings from Västerbotten, in the northern parts of Sweden, but also includes self-portraits from her early years as a painter. Vera Frisén was born in Umeå, but lived more than half her life in Stockholm. During springtime and summer, she did however return to Västerbotten and the vil¬lages of Stöcksjö and Kolksele, where she painted the majority of her landscape paintings.</p><p>The study has been given a chronological frame, where the first part sketches out the contexts and environments that came to have an influence on Vera Frisén and her artistic development. Consequently, the thesis starts with a brief biographical presen¬tation, but then moves forward to issues more central to the subject. Important as¬pects are for example her years as a student in the art academy of Otte Sköld in Stockholm during the late 1920’s, and her first separate exhibition at the gallery Färg & Form in 1941. Other issues that are being illuminated in the study are the artistic and cultural conditions in Vera Friséns hometown Umeå. The discussion mainly cen¬ters on issues that took place during the 1930’s and the 1940’s – the time when Vera Frisén established herself as an artist.</p><p>The second part of the dissertation includes analyses of Vera Friséns paintings. In the search of concepts that further can explain the more profound existential values in her work, the study also links the themes in her paintings to other painters in the his¬tory of landscape painting. Concepts central for discussion are for example the aes¬tethical and philosophical issue of the sublime, as it is formulated in the discourse of Immanuel Kant during the late 18th century. Thoughts expressed by other artists, writers and philosophers, linked to Vera Friséns own thoughts on the subject, are also valuable instruments in gaining a deeper understanding of her work.</p>

The present dissertation deals with the artistry of the Swedish artist Vera Frisén (1910-1990). The emphasis is being put on her landscape paintings from Västerbotten, in the northern parts of Sweden, but also includes self-portraits from her early years as a painter. Vera Frisén was born in Umeå, but lived more than half her life in Stockholm. During springtime and summer, she did however return to Västerbotten and the vil¬lages of Stöcksjö and Kolksele, where she painted the majority of her landscape paintings. The study has been given a chronological frame, where the first part sketches out the contexts and environments that came to have an influence on Vera Frisén and her artistic development. Consequently, the thesis starts with a brief biographical presen¬tation, but then moves forward to issues more central to the subject. Important as¬pects are for example her years as a student in the art academy of Otte Sköld in Stockholm during the late 1920’s, and her first separate exhibition at the gallery Färg &amp; Form in 1941. Other issues that are being illuminated in the study are the artistic and cultural conditions in Vera Friséns hometown Umeå. The discussion mainly cen¬ters on issues that took place during the 1930’s and the 1940’s – the time when Vera Frisén established herself as an artist. The second part of the dissertation includes analyses of Vera Friséns paintings. In the search of concepts that further can explain the more profound existential values in her work, the study also links the themes in her paintings to other painters in the his¬tory of landscape painting. Concepts central for discussion are for example the aes¬tethical and philosophical issue of the sublime, as it is formulated in the discourse of Immanuel Kant during the late 18th century. Thoughts expressed by other artists, writers and philosophers, linked to Vera Friséns own thoughts on the subject, are also valuable instruments in gaining a deeper understanding of her work.