The Game (August Malmström) - Nationalmuseum - 18618

August Malmström was a Swedish painter best known for his nationalistic paintings of proletariat Swedish people, folklore, and Norse mythology. Working in a detailed and naturalistic style, his work features carefully observed gestures and lively expressions. Born on October 14, 1829 in Motala, Sweden, he went on to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm but left to later resume his studies with the French history painter Thomas Couture in Paris, France. When Malmström returned to Stockholm in the late 1860s, he began to teach and eventually manage the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Today, Malmström’s works are mostly found in private collections, though he bequeathed many of his paintings to the Nordic Museum located in Stockholm, where he died on October 18, 1901.