Bruno Liljefors
BRUNO LILJEFORS, Pencil on paper laid on board. Authenticated by Dr. Karl Asplund (1890-1978)
Study of the wing and head of a Sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). With a later inscription ”20/7 / 1930 / 300 f”.
Authenticated by Dr. Karl Asplund (1890-1978) ) ”Originalteckning av [Original drawing by] Bruno Liljefors intygas [is hereby authenticated] Stockholm 17.2-76”
44,3 x 66,7 cm.
Ej examinerad ur ram. Gulnad. Skadat papper, revor, fläckar, veck.
More information
Perhaps a study for Liljefors Eagle and hare from 1904 (Thielska galleriet, Stockholm; M. Hill. Bruno Liljefors. The Peerles Eye, 1987, ill. pp. 110-11). Liljefors depicted Sea eagles on several occassions. His most famous depiction of Sea eagles is his monumental Sea eagles atacking a Diver at Sea, from 1897 (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm).
Dr. Karl Asplund, director at AB Bukowskis Konsthandel between 1929-1953, was a friend of Liljefors. Both shared an interest for hunting. Asplund modelled for Liljefors´s På rävpass [In waiting for the fox] from 1931 (70.5 x 100.5 cm., Private Collection, Sweden), a picture partly based on photographs of Asplund taken during a hunting tour (M. Hill. Bruno Liljefors. The Peerles Eye, 1987, p. 150, illustrating the photographs). Another drawing by Liljefors of an eagle spreading out its wing seen from above is in Nationalmueum (NMH 339/1941; 87 x 148 mm.; op. cit., p, 31, illustrated).
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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