ArtistSwedish
Per Julius
1 active items
Per Julius was born in 1951 in Örnsköldsvik, a coastal town in Västernorrland County at the northern edge of the Ångermanland region. Largely self-taught, he developed his skills through close observation of the landscapes surrounding him during his formative years in northern Sweden. His deep familiarity with the terrain, the light, and the seasons of the High Coast gave his work an authenticity that formal training might not have produced.
His practice centers on watercolor and color lithography, and he has become closely identified with the scenery of Höga Kusten, the stretch of Swedish coastline along the Gulf of Bothnia recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. His most characteristic images feature slender birch trees against snow-covered ground, muted winter light over inlets and fjords, and the particular atmospheric quality of dusk and dawn in Norrland. Works depicting Nordingrå, Sidensjö, Åviken, and surrounding parishes recur throughout his output.
Since 1986 Per Julius relocated to France, eventually settling in Nice, and from there he has continued to paint the northern Swedish landscape from memory and accumulated experience as much as from direct observation. This distance has not diminished the intimacy of the work; if anything, it has sharpened a certain nostalgic clarity in how he renders the quality of light in birch forests and frozen coastal scenes. He has exhibited his paintings at international venues across Europe, making landscapes that might otherwise be unfamiliar territory legible to audiences far removed from northern Sweden.
Beyond oil and watercolor, Per Julius has produced an extensive body of graphic work, including signed and numbered color lithographs, which have brought his imagery to a wider collecting public. His prints carry the same compositional restraint as his paintings, prioritizing atmosphere and seasonal mood over documentary description.
At auction, Per Julius appears primarily through regional Swedish houses, particularly Stadsauktion Sundsvall and Norrlands Auktionsverk, reflecting the geographic loyalty of his collecting base. Top results include an oil landscape at dusk that achieved 6,600 SEK, and a watercolor titled "Frost Nordingrå" that sold for 6,000 SEK. A view over Åviken in Ångermanland has brought 3,110 SEK. The market for his work is consistent and regionally concentrated, with prices reflecting an engaged audience of collectors who share his connection to the Norrland coastline.