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This thesis focuses on classical style wall painting in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The study specifically involves the governor's official residence in Falun and nine manor houses in the Swedish provinces of Dalarna and Gästrikland, all of which were decorated in the classical style by local artist Johan Nils Asplind between 1791 and 1818. The patrons were early industrialists; all but one were ironworks owners.

The main purpose of the thesis is to describe and analyse the classical style ornamentation and its social functions in the above-mentioned buildings.

The thesis comprises four main chapters, the first of which briefly deals with the origins and development of 18th century classical style decorative wall painting in Sweden, its influences, and its ideals. The next chapter describes and analyses the Governor’s official residence in Falun in terms of its historical furnishings and decorated interiors. The third of the main chapters describes and analyses the classical style wall painting and its social functions within the nine manor houses.

The last of the main chapters analyses the art of Louis Masreliez, in particular the studies created during his twelve-year-long stay in Italy in the 1770s and 1780s. The analysis arrives at a new interpretation of Masreliez’s extensive collection of Italian studies. Contrary to previous research, the thesis claims that the studies are the work of a history painter, not a decorative painter. This allows for a new understanding of the origins of the artist’s classical style interiors, where the use of ornamental engravings is emphasized as a complement to the many studies of the human body. Together with the earlier chapters, this interpretation also results in a less static understanding of the use of models, and the thesis examines them in a more multifaceted way than hitherto has been the case in art history.