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Anders Zorn

(Sweden, 1860-1920)
Estimate
1 000 000 - 1 500 000 SEK
88 700 - 133 000 EUR
93 500 - 140 000 USD
Hammer price
1 050 000 SEK
Purchasing info
Anders Zorn
(Sweden, 1860-1920)

"På den blågrå skinnsoffan" (On the blue-grey leather couch)

Signed Zorn and dated 1916. Canvas 64 x 100 cm.

Provenance

Fritzes Kungl. Hovbokhandel, Stockholm, 1944.
Private collection.

Exhibitions

Konstföreningen, Stockholm, Zorn's exhibition in support of "Röda stjärnan", 18 Februari - 10 March 1918, no. 23 (under the title "Skinnsoffan").

Literature

Gerda Boëthius, "ZORN. Tecknaren. Målaren. Etsaren. Skulptören", 1949, mentioned p. 502 and 523, also catalogued (erroneously) under year 1914, p. 554.
Hans Henrik Brummer, ZORNMCMLXXXIX, 1989, mentioned p. 282 (under the title "På lädersoffan").
Hans Henrik Brummer, "Till ögats fröjd och nationens förgyllning- Anders Zorn", 1994, mentioned and illustrated in interior photograph from the exhibition Röda Stjärnan, p. 272 (under the title "På lädersoffan").

More information

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Designer

Anders Zorn, born in Mora in 1860, showed artistic talent from a young age. In 1875, he traveled to Stockholm and became a student at the then Slöjdskolan (now Tekniska högskolan) in Stockholm, and shortly after, he joined the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Initially, Zorn had aspirations of becoming a sculptor, but soon watercolor painting took over, becoming his primary medium until 1887. At the student exhibition in 1880, Zorn had his breakthrough with the watercolor painting "I sorg." The following year, he gained international acclaim as a portrait painter. His watercolor painting reached its pinnacle during this period, and his most famous work from this time is "Vårt dagliga bröd” from 1886. Shortly thereafter, Zorn transitioned to oil painting, which was met with immediate success. Zorn's reputation mainly rested on his portrait art, and he portrayed many notable figures, including presidents. For instance, he created an etching of Theodore Roosevelt. His etchings significantly contributed to his success. In the late 1880s, Zorn began working in the genre that would increasingly become his trademark: nude figures in outdoor settings. He had long been fascinated by the movement of water and the reflections of light on its surface. Now, he added the complexity of placing a model near or in the water, aiming to depict a synthesis between nature and humanity. In 1896, Zorn and his wife moved back to Sweden and settled in Zorngården in Mora. This move sparked a renewed interest in his homeland, which would be reflected in his future paintings. Among the artist's scenes from the Mora region, portraying its local customs and ancient traditions, "Midsommardansen" holds the highest value according to Zorn himself. Today, the painting can be found at the National Museum.

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