"Interiör från Restaurant Ledoyen" (Studie till "Frukosten") Interior from Restaurant Ledoyen, Study for "The Breakfast"
Signed: "H. Birger gm (genom) S.A.P.". Oil on canvas 46 x 65 cm.
Mrs. Karin Koch, Gothenburg, Sweden; Stockholms Auktionsverk, "Stora Kvalitén", May 30 2002, lot 2271; Rolf Schmitz Collection.
Sixten Strömbom, "Hugo Birger. En levnadsteckning", listed in the catalogue, p. 337, no. 218 and illustrated p. 244 (illustration 108).
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Hugo Birger was a Swedish visual artist born in Stockholm, where he studied at the Swedish Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Birger later travelled to Paris where he spent time with Carl Larsson and Carl Skånberg, and he later had his debut in a Paris Salon. Birger was highly active in Spain and France, where he had a shared studio with Ernst Josephson. Due to Birger’s severe rheumatism, the artist chose to make the Mediterranean into his permanent home due to its warm climate. Birger’s most famous artwork is "Skandinaviska konstnärernas frukost på Café Ledoyen" from 1886 which depicts a breakfast setting shared amongst Birger’s colleagues in Paris featuring Alfred Wahlberg and Georg Pauli. Birger's paintings are executed with great skill and lively coloration, showcasing his mastery in capturing sunlight.
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