Anders Zorn
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Spanish lady
Signed Zorn and dated Madrid 83. Watercolour, image 29.5 x 22 cm.
Provenance
Private collection.
More information
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."
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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