Ivan Aguéli

Ivan Aguéli (1869-1917) was a Swedish painter and orientalist. Through a stray quote I discovered that none other than Gunnar Ekelöf had written an illustrated biography which I, after a dramatic treasure hunt with the boys in the basement of the public library, was able to get hold of. Now, a grand potato salad with lots of lime and garlic later, I am struck by how gruesome yet spiritual Aguéli’s paintings were, or as Ekelöf put it, “a dark diplomacy with light as its aim”.