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Nils Dardel prints bring the strange, elegant and dreamlike world of one of Sweden's most celebrated modernists into your home. Dardel worked in Paris, designed for the Ballets Suédois and travelled the world, and his painting The Dying Dandy is one of the most famous Swedish pictures of the twentieth century. Our collection of fine art prints includes his portraits, theatrical scenes, fantasies and travel paintings.

About Nils Dardel

Nils Elias Kristofer von Dardel was born on 25 October 1888 in Bettna, Södermanland, into a noble family. His grandfather was the painter Fritz von Dardel. He studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm and around 1910 moved to Paris, like many Swedish painters of his generation.

In Paris he drew on the pure colour of the Fauves, on Post-Impressionism and on Japanese woodcuts, and briefly tried Cubism. He became a close friend of Rolf de Maré, who founded the Ballets Suédois, which performed in Paris from 1920 to 1925. De Maré supported his art, and Dardel designed stage sets for the company. His proposal to Nita Wallenberg in 1919 was refused by her father, a rejection linked to his painting Execution.

Dardel married the writer Thora Klinckowström in 1921; they had a daughter, Ingrid, and divorced in 1934. He spent his later years with the writer Edita Morris. A restless traveller, he never really settled. His breakthrough in Sweden came only with a retrospective at Liljevalchs konsthall at the start of the Second World War. He died in New York in 1943.

Style and Subjects

Dardel's pictures are stylised and theatrical, with clear outlines, flat, bright colour and a dreamlike, sometimes unsettling mood. Figures are slender and elegant, often of uncertain gender, posed as if on a stage.

His early work explores Pointillism. In the 1920s he painted scenes like stage sets or film stills, full of drama, and on his travels he painted the people and places he met, from Mexico to Tenerife.

Famous Works

• Funeral in Senlis (1913). A Pointillist scene painted in the medieval town of Senlis.
• The Dying Dandy (1918), Moderna Museet, Stockholm. A pale young man dies surrounded by grieving friends, his most famous painting.
• Execution (1919). A painting said to symbolise his rejected proposal to Nita Wallenberg.
• Crime of Passion (1921). A theatrical scene typical of his work in the Ballets Suédois years.
• Dreams and Fantasies no. 1 (The Skittle Alley) (1922), Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm. A dreamlike scene from his stage-set period.
• Model in a Green Chair (1928), National Museum, Oslo. A model posed in a green armchair.
• The Waterfall. Sold in 2012 as the most expensive Swedish modernist painting to that date.

Decorating with Dardel Prints

Dardel's elegant, dreamlike pictures suit modern and eclectic rooms with strong colour: a living room, dining room or hallway that welcomes a conversation piece. The Dying Dandy and Black Diana look striking against deep green, blue or plum walls.

His travel paintings and portraits, such as Two Girls in a Chair, fit a bedroom or study, and his fantasy scenes work well in a creative space or home office.

FAQ

What is Nils Dardel's most famous painting?

The Dying Dandy (1918), in the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, is his best-known work. It set Swedish auction records in the 1980s and later became an icon of the Swedish gay movement.

What art movement was Nils Dardel part of?

He is described as a Post-Impressionist and modernist. He drew on Fauvism, Pointillism, Japanese woodcuts and briefly Cubism, and worked with the Ballets Suédois in Paris.

What was Dardel's connection to the Ballets Suédois?

His close friend Rolf de Maré founded the Ballets Suédois, which performed in Paris from 1920 to 1925. Dardel designed stage sets for the company.

Where can I see Nils Dardel's paintings?

His work is in the Moderna Museet and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Malmö Art Museum and the National Museum in Oslo.

What makes Dardel's style recognizable?

Look for slender, stylised figures, flat bright colour and a theatrical, dreamlike mood, often with a touch of melancholy or menace.

Related Artists

• Isaac Grünewald: Swedish modernist who went to Paris at the same time
• Sigrid Hjertén: Swedish modernist who studied in Paris at the same time
• Henri Matisse: Fauvist master who taught many of the Swedish painters in Paris