"The View Toward the City," Torsten Jovinge, 1930.

Jovinge (1898-1936) was a Swedish Modernist painter who had a brief but influential career.

He called his style "Purism" and was seen to be influenced by Cubism, with his use of colorful shapes in his work. But rather than distorting his subjects, or playing with perspective, he represents in his own way. He breaks them down into shapes but still retains some shading and texture.

His works were popular in his home country and were an influence on Swedish Modernism. He did a number of works set in various parts of Europe. He began painting and developed his style in the 1920s, traveling in Paris and other areas, and staying mostly in Sweden and Denmark in the 30s.

In 1936, he decided to travel to Morocco to paint, and during a stopover in Seville he was found shot to death in his hotel room. Spanish authorities, at the time caught up in the Spanish Civil War, claimed it was suicide, but the general agreement is that it was murder for unknown reasons.

From a private collection.

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