Johan Ericson (1849–1925 - Landscape with Double Rainbow, 1887

Johan Ericson (1849 – 1925) Sweden

Landscape with Double Rainbow, 1887

oil on panel
unframed 17.7 × 26.7 cm (7 × 10 ½ in)
framed 23.5 × 32 cm (9 ¼ × 12 ½ in)
signed & dated: “Joh. Ericson – 1887–”

Essay:
Slättlandskap med dubbelregnbåge (“Flat Landscape with Double Rainbow”) is a captivating plein-air oil sketch painted by Johan Ericson in 1887. Executed outdoors on a modest 17.7 × 26.7 cm panel, it bears the artist’s signature and date “Joh. Ericson – 1887–” on the front. The composition presents a broad, lowland vista under a dramatic sky, with whitewashed cottages dotting the horizon – a scene likely inspired by the flat farmlands of Gotland, the island home of Ericson’s wife Anna Gardell-Ericson. At the center, a small grove of windblown trees anchors the open landscape and directs the viewer’s eye upward, emphasizing the vast expanse of sky. This device recalls Ericson’s own Moonlight, Marstrand (painted the year before, in 1886) in which a clustering of trees similarly enhances the atmospheric drama, a compositional trick harkening back to Rembrandt’s iconic etching The Three Trees (1643).

In the sky above, Ericson masterfully captures a rare meteorological spectacle: a double rainbow arches across the rain-laden clouds. His portrayal of this phenomenon is both painterly and scientifically precise. The primary bow shines in vivid prismatic colors, while the fainter secondary arc appears above it, displaying a reversed color sequence – with red on the inner edge and blue-violet on the outer, the opposite of the main rainbow. Ericson even suggests the subtle optical effect between the two bows: the band of darker sky (known as Alexander’s dark band) that separates the primary and secondary rainbows. Such fidelity is remarkable; a double rainbow occurs when sunlight is reflected twice inside raindrops, producing that second, inverted bow of lower intensity. Whether or not the artist knew the physics, his keen observation enabled him to render the effect with striking accuracy. The result is an image of luminous, transient beauty – a Scandinavian sky after rain, glowing with an almost supernatural light.

Ericson’s fascination with atmospheric phenomena permeates this work. The turbulent clouds and the crystalline double rainbow attest to his lifelong interest in capturing fleeting weather and light. Notably, in 1904 he exhibited paintings with titles like Molnet (“The Cloud”), Regnigt väder (“Rainy Weather”), and Solglimt (“Sun Effect”), reflecting his preoccupation with the changing moods of nature’s sky. His contemporary Anders Zorn even praised Ericson’s remarkably swift execution on canvas – a speed which allowed him to seize momentary effects of light and atmosphere before they vanished. Indeed, Ericson’s fluid, confident brushwork in Slättlandskap med dubbelregnbåge conveys the immediacy of an on-the-spot study, the artist racing against shifting weather to record the scene. The rare double rainbow motif, combined with the dramatic cloudscape and sunlit expanses, gives this petite painting an outsized emotional and visual impact. It is a testament to the artist’s ability to marry scientific truth with artistic sensibility, resulting in a landscape that feels both real and poetic.

Artist Background: Johan Ericson (1849–1925)

Johan Ericson was a prominent Swedish landscape painter celebrated for his luminous skies and direct plein-air technique. Born in Blekinge in 1849, he trained at the Royal Academy in Stockholm (1872–78) before receiving a travel scholarship in 1878 that enabled him to study in France. In Paris he became a close friend and protégé of the older landscape master Alfred Wahlberg, even assisting Wahlberg with commissioned works to meet transatlantic demand. Immersed in the artistic ferment of late 1870s Paris, Ericson absorbed the influences of the Barbizon school and French plein-air naturalism. His early 1880s landscapes show the clear imprint of Fontainebleau school lessons – the tonal poetry of Camille Corot and Charles-François Daubigny – adapted through his own eyes. During 1881–82 he spent summers in the coastal village of Concarneau in Brittany, where an international artist colony thrived. There, Ericson painted some of his most important works, depicting the oyster fishermen’s town and its surrounding marshes and seashore in various lights. Art critics have noted how this contact with French plein-air painting invigorated Ericson’s style – as Viggo Loos observed, “the exposure to French pleinairism led to a stronger emphasis on atmosphere and the study of air and light. The motifs became more varied, the touch freer, and the handling lighter.” This evolution is evident in the vibrant, breezy brushwork and truthful lighting of his landscapes from the 1880s.

Ericson married fellow artist Anna Gardell (a native of Visby, Gotland) in Paris in 1882. Two years later, with a newborn child and a cholera epidemic spreading in France, the couple returned to Sweden and settled in Gothenburg. There, Ericson balanced his painting career with an influential role in art education and community. From 1885 to 1915 he served as a respected drawing instructor at Chalmers Technical Institute in Gothenburg, and he briefly headed the Valand Art School (1889–1890) during a formative period for that institution. Ericson also engaged in the local art scene as a committee member for acquisitions at the Göteborgs Konstmuseum and as a board member of the Gothenburg Art Association. Throughout, he continued to paint the Swedish landscape with devotion. His favorite locales – ranging from the rocky isles of Marstrand on the west coast to the windswept plains of Gotland – provided endless inspiration for studying light and weather. Johan Ericson’s legacy is that of an artist who bridged academic tradition and plein-air innovation, capturing the Nordic landscape’s subtle atmospherics with speed, skill, and heartfelt reverence. His Slättlandskap med dubbelregnbåge of 1887 encapsulates these qualities, offering a timeless and intellectually engaging vision of nature’s beauty for the discerning collector.