Samvetsgranna porträtt är alltid en god skola : En ikonologisk tolkning av fyra porträtt målade av Ivan Aguéli

Sammanfattning: This thesis concerns four portraits painted in the 1890s by the Swedish artist Ivan Aguéli (1869-1917). Based in hermeneutics and using Erwin Panofsky's model for iconological interpretation, the study tries to answer three questions: What characterizes Aguéli’s portraiture? In what way do the portraits display a certain artistic style? And what similarities can be seen between Aguéli’s portraits and his landscapes. The four paintings analyzed are Flicka i blått - Girl in blue (1890), Ung kvinna - Young woman (1891), Gosse - Boy (1891), and Kvinna med hatt och pälskrage - Woman with hat and fur collar (1890s). Key among the findings of the study are that one of the characteristics of the portraits is that of spirituality, specifically the monotheism Aguéli had picked up from Emanuel Swedenborg. This is present in two of the paintings in the form of shapes symbolising a layered sky. Also the particular way Aguéli painted the eyes of his models points to a spirituality. This also ties the portraits in with Aguéli’s landscapes, several of which has a similarly layered sky. Another characteristic is that of identity, and the study raises the question of whether one portrait could be a self portrait. Finally, in terms of artistic style, several portraits display signs of the symbolism Aguéli encountered in France, as well as an early sign of cubism in his paintings.