Bruno Liljefors
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Hare on winter landscape
Signed Bruno Liljefors and dated 1917. Canvas 102 x 176 cm.
Provenance
Bukowski Auktioner AB, auction 542, Internationella höstauktionen, 28 November - 1 December,2006, cat. no. 109
More information
As an artist, Bruno Liljefors sought to challenge traditional art conventions when it came to depicting animals and nature. By portraying a world from the perspective of animals, he created a unique visual universe that differed from what had previously been the standard. His ability to capture the movements of animals and their interaction with the wild nature established him as a prominent artist both nationally and internationally.
Liljefors' depiction of a hare in a vast winter landscape, such as the one seen in the auction painting, is considered one of the artist's most appreciated motifs. The hare's movement in the snow, seen together with the animal as a whole, forms the composition of the painting. The interaction between the hare and the wild winter landscape in the auction painting can be described based on Liljefors' own words in his picture collection "Ute i Markerna" (Out in the Fields), 1912.
"The connection between the wild animal and its surroundings appears so organic that, for example, a hare, startled from a bush and hurrying away in the terrain, seems like a fruit separating from its husk."
Artist
Bruno Liljefors is the Swedish artist best known for his nature and animal motifs, especially in dramatic situations. Liljefors started with studies at the Academy of Arts in 1879, and continued 1882 in Düsseldorf where the studies revolved around animal painting. The journey then continued to Venice, Rome, Naples, Paris and Grez. Once back in Sweden, he began to draw and paint animals, especially cats and small birds, from the beginning in intimate interaction with nature. He then moved on to broader depictions of wild animals and nature, of seascapes with seabirds and of dramatic scenes of battles between birds. Liljefors is known as our country's foremost animal painter with a large production. Liljefors depicted, in contrast to the "idyllic" animal painting, the animals everyday life with a focus on movement, anatomy and their adaptation to the landscape. This is where the greatness of his painting lies, in the ability to show the animals in their proper environment. He has achieved this by hunting and observing. Well-known works of art are the paintings "Rävfamilj" (1886) and "Havsörnar" (1897), as well as the sculpture "Lek" (1930) at Stockholm Stadium. Liljefors is mainly represented at the National Museum, Waldemarsudde and the Thielska gallery in Stockholm.
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