# Swedish Painted Wall Hangings (Dalmålning, Bonadsmålning and Kurbits)

> Rural Swedish wall hangings painting biblical scenes, figures in local costume, freehand in bright flat colour on cloth or paper. Two distinct schools are merged: Dalarna dalmålning, where swelling kurbits bouquets fill the gaps, and South Swedish bonad painting (Småland, Halland). Motifs came from German and French prints and figure bibles; no atlas style fits as parent. Flourishing c. 1750–1850, it survives as a revived Swedish design motif.

- Period: 1750–present
- Where: Northern Europe
- Origin: Rural Sweden: dalmålare in Dalarna (Rättvik painting from the 1760s, kurbits from about 1780-90) and bonad painters in Småland, Halland and Västergötland painted wall hangings on cloth and, by the late 1700s, paper for farmhouses
- Branch: Traditions & vernacular
- Also known as: Dalmålning (Dalecarlian painting), Bonadsmålning (South Swedish bonad painting), Kurbits, Rosmålning
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/dalmalning-bonad/

## How it works

- Paint biblical stories as friezes of stylised figures in local 18th-century dress and farmsteads.
- In Dalarna work, fill the gaps between figures with kurbits, scrolls and flowers.
- Lay bright flat colour freehand on a pale cloth or paper ground, leaving the brush visible.
- Frame scenes in painted borders and panels, and add hand-lettered captions or dates where text is used.
- Copy and adapt figure bibles and cheap prints rather than invent new compositions.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (defining)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Horror vacui](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/horror-vacui/) (defining)
- [Sequential narrative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/sequential-narrative/) (defining)
- [Repetition & rhythm](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/repetition-and-rhythm/) (characteristic)
- [Flat hierarchy](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-hierarchy/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Full polychrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-polychrome/) (defining)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Complementary clash](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/complementary-clash/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (defining)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (characteristic)

### Surface & texture
- [Painterly brushwork](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-brushwork/) (defining)

### Ornament
- [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (defining)
- [Abundant decoration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/abundant-decoration/) (defining)
- [Folk & sacred symbols](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/folk-and-sacred-symbols/) (characteristic)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (characteristic)

### Medium & production
- [Hand-painted](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-painted/) (defining)
- [Textile & craft](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/textile-and-craft/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (characteristic)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (characteristic)
- [Communal & popular](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/communal-and-popular/) (characteristic)
- [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (occasional)

Avoids: Modular grid, Generous white space, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Monochrome, Gloss & highlights, Carved line, Ornament-free, Straight photography, Offset printing, Rational & objective

Palette: #f1e6cc, #b3261e, #2f5d8a, #3f7a3f, #e0a82e, #2b2118

Typefaces: Painted hand-lettered captions (where present), Painted hand-lettered dates (where present)

Known for: Back Olof Andersson, Björ Anders Hansson and Mats Persson Stadig, Dalarna wall hangings (late 1700s to early 1800s); Winter Carl Hansson, kurbits paintings at Danielsgården, Bingsjö (about 1800); Johannes Nilsson, South Swedish bonad paintings (Gyltige, Halland); Sven Nilsson of the Sunnerbo school (dated bonad 1875, the youngest recorded); Bårarydsbonaden, dated 1714 (Borås museum); Bonad collections of Varbergs museum, Smålands museum (Växjö) and Bonadsmuseet, Unnaryd

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Alike in its design choices: [Dhaka Rickshaw Painting](https://stylogeny.com/styles/dhaka-rickshaw-art.md) (1950–present), 79% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Egyptian Revolutionary Street Art (Mohamed Mahmoud Murals)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/egyptian-revolution-street-art.md) (2011–2014), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Mithila (Madhubani) Painting](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mithila-painting.md) (c. 1350–present), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Fileteado Porteño](https://stylogeny.com/styles/fileteado-porteno.md) (1890–present), 64% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Tingatinga Painting](https://stylogeny.com/styles/tingatinga.md) (1968–present), 64% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Kinshasa Popular Painting](https://stylogeny.com/styles/kinshasa-popular-painting.md) (1970–present), 63% alike

## Sources

- https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalmålning
- https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonadsmålning
- https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurbits

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Swedish Painted Wall Hangings (Dalmålning, Bonadsmålning and Kurbits)”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/dalmalning-bonad/