Anders Zorn
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"Delsbostintan"
Signed Zorn and dated 1906. Oil on canvas 73 x 54 cm.
Provenance
Generalkonsul Karl Bergsten Collection.
Bukowski Auktioner, Vårauktionen 401, 7 - 10 April 1976, lot 138.
Exhibitions
Verein Berliner Künstler, Künstlerhaus, Bellevuestrasse 3, Berlin, travelling exhibition in Germany organised byTorsten Laurin, March - September 1907
"Anders Zorn - Ausstellung", Galerie Heinemann, München, 1909, cat. no 24
VIII Esposizione Internationale d’Arte della Città di Venezia, 1909, cat. no 612 (label verso).
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "Invigningsutställning: Larsson-Liljefors-Zorn", March - April 1916, cat. no 59.
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "Anders Zorn - minnesutställning", 1 March - 6 April 1924, cat no 147.
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "Svensk konst under 100 år: utställning anordnad av Svenska Allmänna Konstförening med anledning av dess 100-årsjubileum", 1932, cat. no 256.
Literature
Gerda Boëthius, "ZORN. Tecknaren. Målaren. Etsaren. Skulptören", 1949, listed in the catalog under the year 1906, p. 551.
Anders Zorn, ”Självbiografiska anteckningar”, edited by Hans Henrik Brummer, 1982, mentioned p. 142.
Cecilia Lengefeld, "Zorn - Resor, konst och kommers i Tyskland", Carlssons Bokförlag, 2000, listed in the listing of exhibitions under the years 1907 and 1909.
More information
Anders Zorn was a great admirer of Rembrandt, who, alongside Velásquez, was to become his favorite of the Old Masters. Zorn's collection of Rembrandt etchings amounted to over 180 sheets and was the largest private collection in Sweden. In Anders and Emma Zorn's combined studio and home in Paris, there was also a portrait of the master's father. According to Zorn, it was a genuine Rembrandt. Per Svensson writes in “Zorn - a life, a time”: “The choice of paintings says something about the image of himself that Anders Zorn wanted to convey: He was a modern painter but at the same time a tradition-conscious heir to the old masters.”
In the summer of 1896, Emma and Anders Zorn moved to Mora, in Sweden, after eight years in Paris. One of Zorn's great ambitions in life was to preserve the culture of Dalarna and to protect it from the excessive changes of industrialism. In his paintings from Mora and the surrounding area, there is often a concern for traditions, for example by bringing out the cultural uniqueness of the folk costumes and thus paying tribute to the people for holding on to their unique history.
In the winter of 1906 Anders Zorn was very busy and painted many portraits. In his autobiographical notes, Zorn writes: “I etched and painted the exceptionally beautiful Mrs. Granberg. Delsbostintan, who had to rest on her journey between Hedemora and Falun, Bull Liljevalchs, which I painted on Ernest Cassel's commission and at the same time received an order from the former to paint the latter.”
In the auction's portrait, we meet Delsbostintan dressed in the traditional village costume from Hälsingland. The portrait bears many similarities to Rembrandt's “The Kitchen Maid” in the National Museum's collection in Stockholm, which is considered by many to be one of Rembrandt's most representative works. The warm tones of red, brown and yellow and the vivid depiction of the girl make it one of his true masterpieces.
The portrait of Delsbostintan, in clare-obscure and dramatic lighting, is characterized by a calm stillness, which at the same time expresses the closeness between the artist and his model. The famous artist Zorn has captured a brief moment of an everyday moment, a pause on the journey. The vital apparition of the Delsbostintan against the black background, the play of light across her rosy cheeks with the small dimple, testifies to the artist's superb skill as a portrait painter, but also to his admiration for the master Rembrandt.
See picture Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, "Kökspigan" , ref. NM584
Artist
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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