# Lundell — The Red Room character guide

> Lundell in The Red Room by August Strindberg.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the practical Lundell, Mr. Lundell, Presently Lundell

**First appearance:** 0002-iii-the-artists-colony

## Snapshot

A painter turned fat Epicurean, Lundell trades sacred altarpieces for portrait commissions and dinner invitations he calls character studies.

## Who they are

Once a painter of religious pictures, Lundell abandoned the altar for the table, becoming a genial freeloader who only visits the Red Room when his purse is empty. He defends his endless dinners and suppers as essential research, insisting that invitations are how a portraitist studies his subjects. His easy pragmatism and appetite for comfort set him apart from the colony's hungrier, more tortured souls, offering a wry counterpoint to their ideals.

## Relationships

### [Sellén](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/sellen)

_friendship_

Lundell and Sellén are fellow artists and frequent companions within the bohemian circle, sharing a bond over their craft.

### [Arvid Falk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/arvid_falk)

_friendship_

Lundell is a fellow artist and friend in Arvid's bohemian circle, often collaborating and socializing.

### [Olle Montanus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/olle_montanus)

_friendship_

Lundell and Olle Montanus are close artist friends, frequently interacting within the bohemian group.

### [Sellén](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/sellen)

_friendship_

Lundell and Sellén are fellow artists and frequent companions within the bohemian circle, sharing a bond over their craft.

### [Arvid Falk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/arvid_falk)

_friendship_

Lundell is a fellow artist and friend in Arvid's bohemian circle, often collaborating and socializing.

### [Arvid Falk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/arvid_falk)

_friendship_

Lundell is a fellow artist and friend in Arvid's bohemian circle, often collaborating and socializing.

### [Olle Montanus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/olle_montanus)

_friendship_

Lundell and Olle Montanus are close artist friends, frequently interacting within the bohemian group.

### [Sellén](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/sellen)

_friendship_

Lundell and Sellén are fellow artists and frequent companions within the bohemian circle, sharing a bond over their craft.

### [Olle Montanus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/olle_montanus)

_friendship_

Lundell and Olle Montanus are close artist friends, frequently interacting within the bohemian group.

## In the story

### [III: The Artists’ Colony](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/iii-the-artists-colony)

A practical painter who works to please the public; he is depicted as opportunistic and manipulative, using Rehnhjelm as a model.

### [VI: The Red Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/vi-the-red-room)

Working on his Descent from the Cross, criticizes Sellén's work, protests the pawning of others' belongings, and envies Sellén's velvet waistcoat.

### [VII: The Imitation of Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/vii-the-imitation-of-christ)

Mentioned as having given Falk a riddle that is now partially understood.

### [XI: Happy People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xi-happy-people)

Arrives with a commission to paint an altarpiece; later leads the group to Marie's house and gives a drunken speech about religion and nobility.

### [XVIII: Nihilism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xviii-nihilism)

Mentioned in Montanus's letter as the painter of the altarpiece, including a self-portrait as the repenting thief.

### [Audiences](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxiii-audiences)

The fashionable portrait painter flatters Falk while finishing his portrait for the crèche.

### [XXIV: On Sweden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxiv-on-sweden)

Attends the dinner, becomes intoxicated and excited, shouts toasts to Arvid.

### [XXVII: Recovery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxvii-recovery)

Now a fat Epicurean who only comes to the Red Room when he has no money for dinner.

### [XXIX: Revue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxix-revue)

Left the religious sphere, painting portraits of directors, made assistant at the Academy of Arts, and got a painting into the National Museum via a trick.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/lundell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters