Rosa Lie Johansson facts for kids

Rosa Lie Johansson was a talented artist who painted beautiful pictures. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, and later became a Swedish-Mexican painter. Her amazing artwork earned her a special place in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, which is a group for important Mexican artists. She passed away in 2004.

About Rosa Lie Johansson's Life

Rosa Lie Johansson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. We don't know the exact year she was born. In the 1940s, she started studying painting in her hometown with help from the government. Later, in 1952, she continued her art studies in Italy at the Academie Belle Arti. There, she learned from Ferruccio Ferrazzi, a famous Italian painter and sculptor.

Rosa Lie loved to travel and explore new places. In 1951, she moved to Italy and traveled around the country. In late 1952, she moved to New York City in the United States. While in New York, she joined the Art Students League, a well-known art school. She even worked with Will Barnet, an artist famous for his prints and murals.

She stayed in New York until 1953, when she moved to Mexico. She first lived in San Miguel Allende. She traveled through states like Guanajuato and Michoacán to learn about the buildings and culture of central Mexico. At that time, it was easier for Swedish business people to invest in Mexico. A small group of Swedes formed in Mexico City's Colonia Anzures neighborhood. Rosa Lie moved there to find support, living alone with her cat, Cassandra. She kept traveling in Mexico for much of her life, often with her good friend Alma Reed. In 1969, she also visited Indonesia, drawn by its bright colors and unique traditions.

Over time, Rosa Lie Johansson felt more and more connected to Mexico. She even started wearing traditional Mexican clothes, especially those inspired by the ancient and modern Mayan culture.

Rosa Lie Johansson's Art Career

Rosa Lie's first big art show was in 1949 at the Konsthalen in Sweden, also supported by the government. Throughout her career, she had more than 200 exhibitions! Her art was shown in museums and galleries in many countries, including Mexico, Sweden, Italy, India, Indonesia, and Colombia. Her work was seen in major cities like Delhi, Washington, New York, and Bogota.

Some of her most important shows were at the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City (in 1958). She also exhibited at the Museo Nacional in Bogota, Colombia (in 1968). In Mexico, she showed her art in various places, like the Juarez Museum of Art in 1976. She even represented Sweden at the Selected Works of World Art exhibit at the Museo de Arte Moderno during the 1968 Summer Olympics. Her last exhibition while she was alive was called Acuario, held at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana in 2001.

In 1962, she became a member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. This was a big honor, and she had her own show there called Vista de Estudio.

Rosa Lie Johansson's Artistic Style

Rosa Lie was known for planning her paintings very carefully. She would draw and use other methods to decide how to arrange everything in her art. Most of her works were made with oil paints on canvas. She also used gouache (a type of watercolor) and ink on amate paper (a traditional Mexican paper) and other papers. Her paintings were usually medium or large, but she also made small works on amate paper, often as gifts.

Her paintings showed real-life figures and scenes. You can see influences from Expressionist art, which uses strong emotions and colors, and Cubist art, which breaks things into geometric shapes. However, some of her art also had parts that looked like abstract art, which doesn't show real objects. The New York Times newspaper once said her work was "subtly primitive," reminding them of the artist Gauguin and having a "Nordic" (from northern Europe) feel.

Rosa Lie often found ideas for her art in myths and deep, thoughtful stories, as well as city scenes. Details from Mexico's ancient past and its colonial history often appeared in her work. These Mexican elements became very important, but you could still find hints of Nordic designs. After her trip to Indonesia, elements from that culture also started showing up in her paintings. Her later works used warmer colors, like yellow and red.

See also

• In Spanish: Rosa Lie Johansson para niños