Torsten Andersson facts for kids

Otto Torsten Andersson (born June 6, 1926 – died May 30, 2009) was a famous Swedish painter. He was known for his unique way of painting abstract sculptures. He also explored how to show three-dimensional objects on a flat, two-dimensional surface. His art often used colors in a way that seemed almost random, making his paintings look very special.

About Torsten Andersson

Early Life and Training

Torsten Andersson was born in a place called Östra Sallerup in Sweden in 1926. This area is now part of Hörby Municipality.

He started learning to paint at Otte Sköld's Drawing School in Stockholm in 1945. After that, he went to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts from 1946 to 1950. In 1947, he also studied art in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

Finding His Own Style

From a young age, Torsten wondered if painting could be like a language. He felt different from other artists in Sweden during the 1940s. He thought many artists were just copying others.

Torsten's own art was a mix of sad nature paintings and a style called constructivism. This was in the 1950s, and not many people understood his work at first. But soon, he became known as an "artists' artist." This meant other painters admired him because he went his own way. He did not follow the usual trends in modern art.

A Professor's Journey

In 1960, Torsten Andersson became a professor of arts in Stockholm. However, he had a disagreement with the Academy where he worked. He felt very alone and left his job suddenly in 1966.

After leaving, he moved back to his home area in Skåne, where he lived for the rest of his life. For seven years, he stopped painting. He later explained that this time inspired a series of paintings about headstones. One famous painting from this time is My Headstone (Min gravsten) from 2005.

Torsten said that the best art tries to change how art history develops. He felt his own art tried to do this. He believed his work helped bring back easel painting as an important art form. This was at a time when many thought easel painting was becoming less important.

His Unique Art Process

Torsten Andersson was an artist who always experimented with painting. He worked hard to create his own unique artistic language. He often made hundreds of sketches for his finished paintings. But he would destroy most of them.

Lars Nittve, who was in charge of the Moderna Museet art museum in Stockholm, talked about Torsten's process. He said that out of 100 drawings, 90 would be destroyed. The few that remained would lead to new ideas. Then, most of those new ideas would also be destroyed. Only a very small number of drawings would make it to the final painting.

Torsten was very dedicated to his art. In 2008, he won a big art prize called the Carnegie Art Award. He received 1,000,000 Swedish kronor. Even with this big award, he said, "I've worked hard my whole damned life, sacrificing myself and so much else for the art. This prize is no confirmation that I have succeeded, but perhaps a little hint about it."

Torsten Andersson passed away in Hörby in 2009. He was 82 years old.