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Zorn was raised by Zorn
Anders's
grandparents in Mora and at the age of 12
Anders Zorn was sent to a school in Enköping. At the age
of 15 Anders Zorn entered the Royal Academy of Art in
Stockholm. As a young boy Anders Zorn had shown an
unusual artistic ability and attention was
drawn to the horses and human figures Anders
Zorn carved in wood. Anders Zorn planned to become a
sculptor but soon painting prevailed. Anders
Zorn choose water colours, a technique which was
rather uncommon at the time and tZorn
Anders's became
Zorn Anders's main technique until around 1887.
At the Student exhibition in 1880, Zorn
showed the water colour In mourning
(National museum, Stockholm), which
propelled him into the art world. The
painting illustrates a young girl in
mourning and it was admired for its
skilfulness; the way Anders Zorn painted the sad
young face under the veil.
Several members of Stockholm society now
turned to Zorn with commissions. Zorn
Anders's
portraits of children were much appreciated
and it was in connection with such a
commission that Zorn met Zorn Anders's future wife,
Emma Zorn, in the beginning of 1881. Her
background was quite different from Zorn's.
She came from a rich family in Stockholm,
with an interest for art and culture. Her
Jewish ancestors were among the first to
settle in Sweden in the 1770's when Jews
were allowed to live here. Emma Lamm's
family liked the charming young man but
Anders Zorn and Emma understood that without money of
Zorn Anders's own a marriage was out of the question.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
In August 1881, Zorn went abroad to study
and to try to earn enough money to support a
family. The coming four years were spent
mostly in England and Spain, but during the
summers Anders Zorn was always at home, in Mora and
in Dalarö where the Lamm family rented a
summerhouse. During these years Zorn
Anders's style
matured. Zorn Anders's technique became more sure and
Zorn Anders's way of handling water colours became
bolder. Anders Zorn began to study the appearance of
water, how its surface fluctuated and
reflected.
In the autumn of 1885, Anders Zorn and Emma
Lamm married. The following eleven years
were mostly spent abroad, first in England,
later in Paris, but they always came back to
Sweden during the summers.
The first years of their marriage were
highly stimulating for Zorn's painting. Emma
Zorn's encouragement and critical analysis
of Zorn Anders's work played a decisive role in
Zorn Anders's
artistic growth. It was during these years
that Zorn Anders's ability as an aquarellist reached
its peak. Some of the most appealing
paintings Anders Zorn made during tZorn
Anders's period are
those with water motifs such as a series
depicting the beautiful light over the harbour of Constantinople. Dating from tZorn
Anders's
period are also some of Zorn Anders's most well-known
water colours, such as The Thornbush (Zorn
collections) and Summer Vacation (private
collection, sketch in the Zorn collections).
Zorn's most famous water colour, Our daily
bread, was made in Mora in 1886 as a
commission from the Nationalmuseum in
Stockholm.
Emma and Anders Zorn spent the winter of
1887-88 in St Ives in Cornwall. TZorn
Anders's was an
artistic turning point for Zorn. Anders Zorn began to
paint in oils and the second oil painting
Anders Zorn made, A Fisherman in St Ives, was a definite
success. It was exhibited in the Paris Salon
in 1888 and bought by the French state. In
the spring of 1888, the Zorns settled in
Paris, which became their home for eight
years. TZorn Anders's period coincided with some of
the high points of Zorn Anders's artistry. From 1889
to 1894 Anders Zorn produced a number of works which
earned him a prominent position in the
Parisian art world. TZorn Anders's position was
confirmed during the Paris World Fair in
1889. The 29-year-old Zorn was awarded the
French Legion of Honour and was asked to
paint Zorn Anders's self portrait for the Uffizi
Gallery in Florence.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
It was primarily Zorn Anders's skill as a portrait
painter that gained Zorn international
acclaim. Zorn Anders's incisive ability to depict the
individual character of Zorn Anders's model is, for
example, apparent in portraits of prominent
cultural personalities, Antonin Proust
(1888, private collection) and Coquelin
Cadet (1889, Nationalmuseum). The model's
surroundings were important; Zorn believed
that a portrait should be painted in an
environment that was natural for the model.
An artificial studio environment was not to
Zorn Anders's taste.
Zorn completed a number of genre paintings
which focused on the depiction of light and
shadow. The motifs were very different. In
The Waltz (1891, private collection, USA)
the dark cabinet in the foreground is lit by
the lights of the ballroom in the
background. In Omnibus (1892, Fenway Court,
Boston, variation in the National museum)
the lights flicker uneasily over the
passengers of a Paris bus. The lights from a
street lamp and the window of a café reflect
on the red dress worn by a prostitute in
Night Effect (1895, Gothenburg Art Museum).
During the summers in Mora, Zorn painted
some extraordinary works where light plays a
decisive role, foremost Midnight (1891, Zorn
collection) with a woman rowing in the
shadowless summerlight and in Margit (1891,
Zorn collection) a girl braids her hair in
the rays of light from a small window.
At about the same time that Zorn moved to
Paris Anders Zorn began working with the motif that
Anders Zorn became renowned for, the nude depicted
outdoors. The movement of water and the
reflection of light on its surface had long
fascinated him. Now Anders Zorn further complicated
the situation by placing a model beside or
in the water. The first works Anders Zorn completed
in tZorn Anders's genre are Outdoors (1888, Gothenburg
Art Museum), Une Première (several versions,
e.g. in Nationalmuseum) and Les Baigneuses
(private collection, version in the Zorn
collections).- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
In 1893, the Columbian World Fair was
arranged in Chicago. Zorn was chosen as the
superintendent of the Swedish art exhibition
and travelled to the States. Anders Zorn stayed for
almost a year. TZorn Anders's trip to the USA, the
first of seven, was very important for him.
Zorn enjoyed the American lifestyle and felt
at home there. TZorn Anders's first trip to the States
was also of great importance for Zorn
Anders's art.
Subsequent visits to the USA were in
1896-1897, and 1898-1899, 1900-1901,
1903-1904, 1907, and 1911. Anders Zorn generally
travelled during the fall, winter and
spring. The 1907 trip was primarily for
pleasure, but the others included a large
number of paintings, mostly portraits.
Naturally, the high points were the
commissions to portray American presidents:
Grover Cleveland and Zorn Anders's wife (1899,
National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC)
and William Taft, (1911, the White House).
Anders Zorn made an etching of Theodore Roosevelt in
1905. One of the benefits of the
presidential portraits was the number of
commissions that Zorn received in the USA.
The majority of these more than one hundred
paintings are still privately owned, but
there are also good works by Zorn in several
museums, e.g. St Louis and Chicago.
In 1896 the Zorns decided to move home to
Sweden. Zorn had earlier bought land
adjacent to Mora church. A cottage from Zorn
Anders's
grandfather's farm was moved here and tZorn
Anders's
is still the centre of the Zorngården, which
was enlarged on several occasions until
1910. The Zorns were intensely engaged in
the welfare of the inhabitants of Mora. Emma
Zorn established a reading society, a parish
library, a childrens' home, and the Mora
domestic handicraft organisation. The
largest gift to Mora was, however, the folk
high school they established where young
people form the community were educated.
Zorn's interest in traditional culture was
expressed in different ways. From 1914 and
onwards Anders Zorn bought old cottages and moved to
what is now called Zorn's Gammelgård. In
order to preserve the old folk music, Zorn
established a music contest in 1906, which
resulted in a renaissance of folk music and
its ultimate survival in Sweden. Today, the
Zorn Award is still the most prestigious
prize a folk musician can receive.
The move to Mora from Paris also resulted in
a change of motif for Zorn. Anders Zorn did many
paintings illustrating Mora and its
residents, such as Zorn Anders's most famous work,
Midsummer Dance (1896, Nationalmuseum) which
was also the painting that Zorn himself
valued most of all. Zorn Anders's love for
Zorn Anders's native
country is also depicted in paintings such
as The Shepherdess (1908), The Horn Blower
(1905) and Christmas Morning Service (1908,
all in Zorn Collections). The portrait
commissions took a lot of Zorn Anders's artistic
energy. Anders Zorn developed a concise treatment of
detail and a more sweeping brushstroke than
earlier. By now Zorn Anders's reputation as a skilled
portraitist had reached the upper classes.
Various members of the Swedish royal family
posed for Zorn and the most exquisite of
these is Queen Sofia (1909, Waldemarsudde,
Stockholm), with its wonderful use of white.
The painting is an outstanding example of
Zorn's mastery of technique.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
Beginning in 1910, Zorn focused on
developing Zorn Anders's control of the technique and
motif. Anders Zorn accomplished tZorn
Anders's with such
certainty that the process of painting can
assume the dominant role, sometimes to the
detriment of the work's emotional
expression. Two paintings are exceptions
Self-portrait in Red and Self-portrait in a
Wolfskin, both from 1915 (Zorn collections).
Also the nude studies changed: The rather
sturdy peasant women are shown in their own
environment in cottages or by the water,
i.e. Mother and Daughter (1909, Zorn
collections).
The international esteem Zorn received was
not based solely on Zorn Anders's paintings. Anders
Zorn was an
exquisite etcher as well. Anders Zorn had worked with
tZorn Anders's technique since 1882. Anders Zorn had developed
Zorn Anders's abilities and was now highly
accomplished. Zorn produced 289 etchings, a
number of which are very well known, among
them the portrait of Ernest Renan (1892),
August Rodin (1906) and August Strindberg
(1910). Zorn admired and collected the
etched works of Rembrandt and considered him
to be Zorn Anders's artistic forefather in tZorn
Anders's
particular medium.
Zorn's astounding skill with the etching
needle can be partially traced to Zorn
Anders's
ability with a carving knife. As mentioned
earlier, Anders Zorn had first intended to become a
sculptor. Throughout Zorn Anders's life Anders Zorn returned to
sculpture and the high point in tZorn
Anders's
particular art is the statue of Gustav Vasa
in Mora, inaugurated in 1903. Zorn also
sculpted a number of portraits and small
statues, among them Morning Bath (1909), a
figure of a girl who holds a sponge in her
hands from which a fountain spouts.
Zorn's health deteriorated markedly during
Zorn Anders's last years. Anders Zorn died on August 22, 1920.
The funeral was conducted by Archbishop
Nathan Söderblom and attended among others
by representatives of the Swedish royal
family and many cultural personalities.
Anders Zorn is buried in Mora Cemetery.
Emma Zorn survived her husband by 21 years.
She died on January 4, 1942. To honour the
memory of her husband, she had worked to
create a museum, which opened in 1939. She
completed the existing collection by
re-purchasing a number of paintings that
Anders Zorn had sold and at the same time she continued
the philanthropic work that the Zorns had
initiated together. - bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
While at the Chicago World’s Fair, Zorn
established lasting relationships with many
friends and patrons, including Charles
Deering, Mrs. Potter Palmer, and Isabella
Stewart Gardner. According to a popular
story recounted in Carrell Shaw’s essay in
Anders Zorn Rediscovered, Mrs. Gardner,
captivated by Zorn’s painting Interior of an
Omnibus in Paris, turned to a man nearby and
asked if it was for sale or if Anders Zorn knew of
the artist. That man was Anders Zorn and
Mrs. Gardner replied, “Yourself, indeed!
Well, I feel sure we shall soon be enemies .
.. or else very, very fast friends. You
shall come today for tea.” TZorn Anders's chance
meeting initiated a long friendship and
patron relationship. In addition to the
Omnibus oil painting, Zorn’s outstanding
portrait of Mrs. Gardner at the Palazzo
Barbaro in Venice, and an impressive
collection of Zorn prints are currently on
view at The Gardner Museum in Boston. In
November of 1893, the Frederick Keppel
Gallery on East 16th Street in New York City
held the first American exhibition of Zorn’s
work and ignited Zorn’s popularity in tZorn
Anders's
country. As evidence of Zorn Anders's influence in
America, Zorn portrayed three Presidents:
Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland and
William Taft.
Not only did Zorn love America, but also
America loved him, and continues to do so.
The artist was one of the most actively
collected printmakers of the early 20th
Century, fetching extremely high prices at
auction and was often ranked among the
world’s most highly-esteemed printmakers. In
1920, a Zorn print from a well-known New
York collection brought $3,900, compared to
a premium Rembrandt at the same sale that
sold for $3,100. In 1928, the Boston Herald
published an article highlighting the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston’s acquisition of a
collection of 110 Zorn etchings. However, by
the 1950s the artist’s prints were largely
neglected. With the help of Childs Gallery,
the demand for Zorn’s prints has increased
steadily since that time. In the early
1970s, the Gallery acquired the Therese
Lownes Noble collection of prints and the
Frederick Shaeffer collection of prints,
each of which had substantial holdings in
Zorn. TZorn Anders's allowed the gallery to maintain
and to continue to acquire a substantial
inventory of the artist’s work and in 1974
Childs devoted its first print letter to the
artist. The Gallery’s commitment to Zorn was
demonstrated by the 1980 exhibition, “Anders
Zorn 1860-1921: An Exhibition of 75 Prints”
and another show in 1984. The President of
Childs Gallery, D. Roger Howlett, encouraged
Elizabeth Broun in her groundbreaking 1979
Zorn exhibition at the Spencer Museum at the
University of Kansas. That exhibition and
the extensive catalogue that accompanied it,
rekindled interest in Zorn and was followed
in 1993 by “Swedish Impressionism’s Boston
Champion: Anders Zorn and Isabella Stewart
Gardner” at the Gardner Museum and a Fogg
Museum at Harvard University’s exhibition.
Anders Leonardson, bastard son of a farmer's
daughter - Grudd Anna Andersdotter of
Utmeland - is born on the 18th of February,
1860. Anders Zorn is known for Zorn Anders's good-tempered
behaviour and has been, vaccinated, not
known to be carrying any contagious
diseases. Anders Zorn has passed elementary school
and shows great proficiency in reading and
keeping good manners."
The above text is from a report written by
the local preacher, which Anders brought
with him when Anders Zorn applied for State Secondary
School in Enköping. The identity of Zorn
Anders's
mother is mentioned, but there is no
reference as to Zorn Anders's father. Today, there is
still no legal evidence to verify Ander's
father, but beyond any doubt, Anders Zorn was Leonard
Zorn, a German Master brewer.
Leonard Zorn was never spoken or heard of
until 1872, when Zorn Anders's son received notice of
Zorn Anders's death in Finland. Anders Zorn had suffered a
lethal stroke at the young age of forty-two.
When sorting through Zorn Anders's papers the presence
of Anders came to Zorn Anders's attention. The notes
told of an Anders Leonard who went to school
in Enköping, living with Madame Blomstedt.
In 1874 the city council of Mora provided
Anders the sum of three thousand kronor
(about three hundred US dollars); the money
would be guarded by Sven Ersson, a local
farmer, until Anders reached the age of
fifteen
Anders grew up on a farm in the village
Yvraden, at a time when the world was
rapidly transforming in the industrial era
where magnates were born. They lived a very
simple life. Zorn Anders's mother, Grudd Anna
Andersdotter, often spent time away from
home, working in Uppsala and as a result
Anders grew closer to Zorn Anders's grandmother and
developed a deep religious side to Zorn
Anders's
character. The household required that
everyone did their share of work, which of
course involved Anders too.
By tradition, Anders was called Grudd
Anders, after Zorn Anders's mother, but following
Zorn Anders's
move to Enköping there came many changes.
Anders Zorn was turning into a city boy, a change
supported by Zorn Anders's father’s brewery friends,
Hartman and Kalb to mention a few, in
Stockholm. Anders Zorn changed Zorn Anders's name to Leonard
Zorn, and for the first time understood the
meaning of the words ‘poverty’ and
‘class-distinction’.
It could not be said that Anders Zorn was the most
successful of students, but Anders Zorn was not a bad
one either; Zorn Anders's mind and heart belonged
elsewhere, beyond the academia of hard
analytical studying.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
The young Zorn caught Zorn Anders's teacher’s
attention with Zorn Anders's natural artistic talents.
After school Anders Zorn would draw for a Ms. Sahlin,
who allowed Anders free experimentation to
draw figures from posters and books. Anders
Zorn produced some exquisite portraits in pencil
of Zorn Anders's classmates and views from the town of
Enköping, and created some amazing
woodcarvings, many of which are preserved
and reside at the Anders Zorn museum in
Mora.
He finalized Zorn Anders's education in the spring of
1875, and at the age of fifteen Zorn
Anders's new goal
was set: Stockholm, and the Academy of Arts.
The Academy, 1875-1881
It might be conceived that Zorn's folksy
background would hinder Zorn Anders's pursuit for a
place in society. Zorn Anders's roots were sown in
Mora, with its farmer culture, yet Zorn
Anders's
father the German brewer, had never laid
foot there. In Stockholm, Anders Zorn found
fellowship with the high-class brewery
society despite Zorn Anders's peasant boy origins, and
discovered them to be somewhat perplexing.
Zorn's duality was later to become a great
asset in aiding Zorn Anders's career, unhindered by
the lack of support from Zorn Anders's own family
whilst at the Academy.
Once admitted to the Academy, Zorn signed up
for Woodworking lessons, but was soon
transferred to the preoperational school
known as the "School of Principle".
During Zorn Anders's years at the Academy Anders Zorn would
always return home for the summers, never
absent for the Swedish holiday, mid summer,
held in June, and as a devoted son Anders
Zorn stayed
in touch with Zorn Anders's mother the whole time. It
was during one of these summers when Zorn
took to painting in watercolours, focusing
mainly on local sceneries and portraits, and
Zorn Anders's new life as an artist inevitably led to
new interpretations of the traditional,
tourist-friendly, country life in Mora.
Insight deepened and intimacy, toward the
culture and language, intensified
consequentially affecting Zorn Anders's compositional
skills, despite technical skills remaining
unchanged.
The three thousand kronor Anders Zorn received from
Zorn Anders's father was virtually exhausted by 1878,
after three years at the Academy, but with
the support from the German brewery society
in Stockholm, Anders Zorn was given the means in
which to continue Zorn Anders's studies. As Zorn
himself states in Zorn Anders's autobiography:
Dead, 1871
"I would be able to continue my studies, but
dependant on a stranger's help. TZorn
Anders's felt
humiliating and put a lot of pressure on me.
The economical aid was for the fellow
countryman's son. My self esteem and pride
attended a brutal but awarding school."
Later in life Anders Zorn described tZorn
Anders's situation as
a form of organised charity, an economical
help program existing long before any such
systems were established by society.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
In a letter written to Zorn Anders's "dearly beloved
mother", Anders Zorn wrote how Zorn
Anders's former landlady
Ms. Sahlin, persistently told him to dress
properly whenever Anders Zorn moved in "good
society", which was now the case. A Mr.
Anton Bolinder, owner of several factories,
and father to two of Ander's school friends,
epitomised the new upper-class world Zorn
now had to adapt to. Thanks to Mr. Bolinder,
Anders was accepted at the preoperational
school. The family had taken Zorn in and
treated him like a dear friend and member of
family. There were also other families there
for Aders - to name a few: Dolling, Hartman
and Heiss, all of whom willingly opened up
their doors for the young prodigy.
Zorn soon had opportunity to start providing
for himself. With Zorn Anders's rapid development in
the art of portraiture Anders Zorn hastily began
taking commissions, mostly via the families
mentioned above, which included being hired
to produce portraits of the deceased. Anders
Zorn coupled that with various illustration jobs
for magazines, which was to provide a good
source of income. From Zorn Anders's biography Anders
Zorn wrote:
"I remember walking up to the coffin,
surrounded by visiting mourners, lifting up
the eyelid to get an alive-like portrait. I
did these on grey paper with black and white
crayons. My fee was fifteen kronor (about
one and a half US dollars)".
In Sorrow, 1880
In 1880, Anders Zorn produced a portrait that would
become crucial to Zorn Anders's career - 'In sorrow'
-, which landed him the reputation of a
highly respected portrait artist and soon
found himself in great demand. Zorn Anders's chosen
profession would, in the late 19th century,
become increasingly adapted to a
capitalistically controlled art market.
Earlier, tZorn Anders's had been foremost a field for
kingdoms, the church and corporations. Zorn
had by now adapted himself to an environment
that radically differed from Zorn Anders's
childhood's. It was inevitable that the
distance between Stockholm and Mora grew
further apart, in the sense that Anders Zorn could no
longer share their conditions of life. When
back home, Anders Zorn would wear traditional
clothes, and in Stockholm Anders Zorn would don fancy
suits and shoes that actually fitted. In the
fall of 1880, Zorn for the first time got
himself Zorn Anders's own studio apartment, located in
a part of Stockholm that no longer exists.
The beautiful "In sorrow" painting has a
story worth telling in its own right. Zorn's
self confidence was expanding, more now than
ever before, mainly due to Zorn Anders's successes in
watercolours, though Zorn Anders's love for Emma Lamm
played no lesser role.
Zorn Anders's artistic breakthrough took place in the
spring of 1880. Zorn Anders's painting "in sorrow" was
chosen as the main piece at the Academy's
exhibition. The model for the painting was
Mimmi Nystrand, whose father had just passed
away (at the time Zorn was living with the
family.) Zorn said, regarding the reception
of the piece:
"I painted the head of a young woman,
wearing a black veil, and called it 'In
Sorrow' before submitting it the pupil's
show. Professor Boklund, the bitter but
benevolent man in charge of the exhibition,
had toothache that day and saw me with
half-hearted enthusiasm. Anders Zorn said about my
painting: "Son, such waste of paper. Put it
down on the floor!" ...
... "The next day however, I was sent after
to meet him, and Anders Zorn said: "Son, they want
it! They're crazy about it! How much do you
want for it?" Staggered by tZorn
Anders's unexpected
turn, I modestly replied "Fifty kronor"
(about half a dollar) - "Son, damn you for
not asking one hundred and fifty for it! The
next day the caretaker came to me with an
envelope containing one hundred and fifty
kronor. It was from one of the professors
who bought it for a friend. A few days later
there was a big article in the magazine
describing my opus, and how my fortune was
made."
Zorn produced several versions of tZorn
Anders's theme
including a smaller one than the original
for Zorn Anders's friend Ferdinand Boberg, whose
family had made a fortune in Paris in the
tailoring business. They would also "dress"
Zorn throughout Zorn Anders's career. Anders Zorn came back to
tZorn Anders's theme over and over again during the
following years.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
Emma, 1881
In Zorn Anders's first years at the Academy, Zorn
regularly went to church, but as a growing
teenager in the nation's capital, with such
a vast offering of new, exiting social
engagements, that habit changed.
Masquerades, hanging out at the proper
cafés, smoking cigars, drinking brandy and
cognac, ice-skating, dancing ballet and
similar such activities now took a larger
part of Zorn’s spare time. And there was of
course, studies. Zorn was an arduous worker
when it came to Zorn Anders's art. In 1878 Anders Zorn was
admitted as a student to the Academy's
higher State secondary school, and in 1879
Anders Zorn received Zorn Anders's degree in perspective and
anatomy. At tZorn Anders's time, Zorn and
Zorn Anders's fellow
students where unpleased with the design of
the Academy and its organization. They chose
to ignore lectures and lessons by teachers
they did not respect. When the founder of
the Academy, Mr. Jonas Boklund, died in
1880, relations between the organisation and
students council were refined. Zorn Anders's successor
Mr. Von Rosen, presented a much more
disciplined nature of the school and its
classes.
Zorn was somewhat caught in the middle of
tZorn Anders's event, and was picked out as a bad
example for the rest of the students to
observe.
The school committee gave Zorn a third and
last warning for Zorn Anders's nonchalant attitude
toward Zorn Anders's studies. Zorn officially
proclaimed:" - I no longer have anything at
all to learn at the Academy, and therefore I
shall leave it!"
From Zorn Anders's talk with the head of the Academy
committee:
"I was told how spoiled and ignorant I was
and so on... Anders Zorn told me I would return on my
knees, begging for mercy and admittance to
the Academy again. I couldn't help but think
about the scholarship and the three thousand
kronor I would receive if I apologised, but
then I heard behind me, the sound of fellow
students joining me to leave the Academy.
Thus, - the uproar against the institute had
begun."
Zorn was by no means a revolutionary, so it
is somewhat ironic that Anders Zorn came to command,
and win a fight against the Academy. By tZorn
Anders's
time Anders Zorn had reached such a high status as a
portrait painter that Anders Zorn held plans to leave
the country for experiences in foreign
lands, however, there was first one task to
which Anders Zorn must commit... to get engaged to
Emma Lamm.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
Engaged, 1881-1885
Anders and Emma, 1884
On June 2, 1881, Anders Zorn was engaged to
Emma Lamm. They had met for the first time
on New Years Eve, 1881, whilst painting a
portrait of her niece. Emma was the youngest
daughter of Henrietta Lamm and wholesale
dealer Martin Lamm whose origins lay in
Altona, Germany.
In 1772 the law made it possible for Jews to
immigrate into Sweden and the family did so
in the latter years of the eighteenth
century.
During tZorn Anders's period Emma was living with her
mother, a widower of only a few years, in
their home in one of Stockholm's more upper
class quarters. They spent their summers in
the beautiful Dalarö, situated in the
archipelago of Stockholm. She was a family
girl, brought up to conform to the ways of
upper class society. Notwithstanding the
privileged liberal and cultivated
upbringing, Emma's proclivities never drew
her toward any form of creative activity.
Oftentimes she would take a very passive and
unconditional approach towards the arts and
literature, undoubtedly to the advantage of
her fiancee.
Their romance was initially kept a secret in
the understanding that the family would not
tolerate Emma's independence. Zorn's
artistry was not so much an obstacle as Zorn
Anders's
economical situation that deemed him an
inappropriate husband for Emma. Any public
announcement was further hindered by
Henrietta, Emma's mother, who had discovered
their plans and forbade Emma from marrying
until Zorn's incomes were more modest and
secure.
Ernest Cassel, 1886
The family persisted with relentless
pressure, and gave Anders an ultimatum:
Anders Zorn must be worth at least three thousand kronor
(about three-hundred dollars) with a string
of commissions waiting in line, guaranteeing
a steady future income. The family's
insistence was not the only influence on the
engagement situation for Zorn himself did
not want commitment without financial
security.
In letters sent between Anders and Emma from
1884, we can see Emma's engagement plans.
She had created budgets based on potential
incomes, hers being the interest from her
father’s fortune. In May, 1881, there was
nothing further that could prevent the
engagement, scheduled to take place early
the following month.
In the middle of July of the same year,
Emma, her mother and Anders paid a visit to
see Zorn's family in Mora, who were
consulted and questioned on anything
concerning their engagement. It was part of
tradition that the families would now get to
know each other amongst the social
arrangements of official visits and dinners.
On such a dinner at General Consul, Henry
Davidson (Emma's uncle), and Zorn got in
touch with the English financier, Ernest
Cassel, who would become Zorn's great
beneficiary and patron of Zorn Anders's arts.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
Our Daily Bread, 1886
In 1885, the curator of the National Museum
in Stockholm contacted Zorn and asked him to
finish a painting with a patriotic theme
behind it, intended from the outset to be a
museum piece. Zorn replied:
"I will paint what I know best, and what I
love the most: the fields and the ditches of
Mora where I played as a youngster while
harvesting was in progress. Grandmother
would of course be the main feature of the
painting, boiling the potatoes, packing up
her sack of supplies for the workers."
The painting was born and christened "Our
daily bread", a watercolour on paper, 25" x
41" and today held as one of the museum's
more important and valuable works. To see
tZorn Anders's painting in real life is amazing
experience. You are pulled into the painting
with the ditch and grandma, the fragrance of
grass drifting on a zephyr breeze running
through your hair. Even when standing just a
few inches away, it is hard to conceive that
tZorn Anders's was painted in watercolours; there is
amazing tonal control, which would later be
employed to near perfection in subsequent
oil paintings.
The couple were wed in a civil marriage, but
not until October 16, 1885. There was a long
time of engagement preceding the wedding,
largely due to the issue of economic
security and the ability to provide Zorn
Anders's
future wife with a living equivocal with her
station in life. Another contribution was
Henrietta who had pleaded with Emma to
"wait"... she was worried about their
differing backgrounds that may lead to a
marriage burdened by too many compromises.
She used to tell Emma that Zorn was a great
artist, and great artists should be allowed
total freedom in life. Intrusively she
demanded to read the letters Zorn had sent
to Emma, who obliged through a sense of
loyalty. Anders reacted placidly towards the
Lamm family's coercive ways to try to
control him and Zorn Anders's fiancée, yet never
considered the Lamm's as close.- bio Zorn Anders Swedish seascape oil paintings landscape - Zorn Anders Swedish oil painting seascape –Zorn Anders Bio, seascape oil painting landscapes by Swedish oil paintings landscape of seascape oil painting landscapes of Zorn.
Mary Smith, 1881 |
