Berndt Lindholm:
View of a Parisian Alley

Berndt Lindholm (1841–1914) depicted a picturesque urban view with trees and buildings in his View of a Parisian Alley (1875). The work is painted using earthy shades of grey and light brown, which merge into a harmonious whole thanks to the artist’s lively brushwork. Lindholm, who took up art studies in Paris in 1868, is sometimes considered the earliest proponent of impressionist plein air painting in the Nordic region. His Parisian subjects were often city streets, alleyways and buildings, rendered following the French technique of depicting the light. Based on its immediacy and lively brush technique, View of a Parisian Alley appears to have been painted outdoors and can thus be considered one of the masterpieces of early Nordic plein air painting.