In 1879, when Georg Pauli was 24 years old, he fulfilled his dream and traveled to Italy. As he writes in his book "Mina romerska år" (My Roman years), it was “to Italy that I longed for most passionately, Italy, the homeland of my demigods!” Once in Rome, he began studying at a private painting academy on Via Margutta. The academy's director, along with his family lived in an adjacent part of the house (that also housed a flock of hens). Members of the director's family took turns as models for the students. Pauli's fascination and close connection with his models during this period is evident in his work "Konstkritik (Art Critique) from 1881 (see image). This painting was created during his stay in Italy and could depict a scene inspired by life at the academy on Via Margutta. In a shaded courtyard among cages with chickens, several women sit working on their needlework. The young artist Pauli has set up his easel in front of them, and around him, other women and children gather keenly to observe the result.

Pauli was the ever-intellectual debater, writer, and artist who would later become one of Sweden’s most distinctive Cubists. His years in Italy marked an artistic journey where Pauli explored various styles and themes. Realistic outdoor studies alternated with more academic studio paintings featuring religious or historical subjects. During a stay on Capri in 1880, Pauli painted his first monumental canvas, the remarkable Spinner on Capri (see image). A young girl sits on a terrace, holding a spindle in one hand and thread in the other. The painting’s pronounced outlines and large, unbroken color planes were unusual and foreshadowed the synthetic style of painting in the 1890s.

In the painting featured in the auction, Girl on Capri, created in 1880, we recognize the model from Spinner on Capri, but the similarities end there. The monumental has been replaced by the intimate; the gray scale of the flat surfaces has been transformed into an explosion of depth and color; the austere setting is replaced with glistening sunlight and lush greenery. The blinding sun blurs the contours. The girl’s clothing is accented with details that shine in red and green. It is a lively, realistic depiction of the young model winding her yarn in the cool shade.