Einar Jolin is known for his decorative and slightly naïve Expressionist style. His artwork often features delicate brush strokes and light colours, focusing on portraits, still lives, and cityscapes notably of his beloved Stockholm of which the present work is an example.  This icy atmospheric winter view of the city is stripped of its essentials, capturing the distant observation of the artist’s eye, conveying a clean elegant view of the island of Riddarholmen with the House of Nobles in front of Riddarholmen church.   Behind, to the left of the picture, is the Stockholm City Hall.  There is a palpable chill to the air and the sky glows softly with a rosy hue.

Jolin studied at Konstfack (Stockholm’s University for Art and Design) and later at the Konstnärsförbundets målarskola. Alongside fellow Swedish artists Isaac Grünewald and Einar Nerman, Jolin moved to Paris in 1908 to study under Henri Matisse at the Académie Matisse. His time in Paris had a lasting impact on his artistic development, introducing him to Modernism and European avant-garde trends.

Jolin exhibited his work in several major galleries in Sweden during his lifetime, such as Liljevalchs Konsthall in Stockholm and he also exhibited in the United States. In 1954, the then UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld purchased one of Jolin’s paintings for his office at the United Nations headquarters.

Jolin’s work is now represented in the collections of all the major Swedish art museums as well as the National Gallery in Oslo and Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.  In 1990, a centenary exhibition of Jolin’s work was held at Moderna Museet in Stockholm and in 2010, a 120 year anniversary exhibition took place at Lijevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm.