Anders Zorn

In February 1884, Zorn left a rainy and foggy London, where he had been living for a few years, to travel to Spain for the second time in his life. It was the Swedish minister in Madrid, Henrik Åkesson, who had enticed him there with prospects of portrait commissions. Even the young Spanish king, Alfonso XII, could be interested.

During his time in Madrid, Zorn spent time with Spanish artist colleagues, especially two painters, Luis Sainz and Juan Comba y Garcia who welcomed him into their circle. They offered the Swede a place in their studios and he soon felt at home. In a letter to his fiancée Emma dated May 9, 1884, Zorn writes: "I have now moved and feel excellent, feeling more at home and not always like a traveling test-rider. I have two delightful rooms on one of the finest streets and I eat my meals at home together with the Señora and the others." Zorn's extensive production from the spring in Madrid 1884 is known, but most of the works are not cataloged (according to chapter II, note 13 in Zorn's Autobiographical Notes).

The current watercolor is dated Madrid 83, which is a bit confusing since Zorn, according to his biographer Gerda Boëthius, did not set foot in Spain in 1883. However, the signature "Madrid 83" is also found on other watercolors completed in London in 1884-85, including studies for "Kärleksnymf."