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Lot Essay
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Birgitta Sandström, Museum Director, Zornsamlingarna, Sweden.
Nude at the Beach illustrates beautifully why Anders Zorn became one of the most highly reveered painters of the nineteenth century in Sweden and why he still held in high regard. The 'Swedish Impressionist' manipulated paint onto canvas 'en plein air', with quick brushstrokes capturing the moment as he saw it with his own eyes. His impressionist style had earned him a place among the royalty in Sweden and he enjoyed illustrious life painting the European aristocracy in particular. Although his portraits are exceptional works that boldly combine the grandeur of court portraiture with the informal impressionist technique, it is his nudes en plein air for which he is best known. The present work, painted in 1907, shows how the artist dissolved the figure into the landscape which they seem to have emerged - foliage, forest, streams, rivers - with his use of rapid brushstrokes and subtle use of colour. Zorn often painted in the countryside and it was there that he could engage most with his surroundings and his models as he combined so effortlessly the time-honoured subject of the nude model with the essence of Swedish culture.
Nude at the Beach illustrates beautifully why Anders Zorn became one of the most highly reveered painters of the nineteenth century in Sweden and why he still held in high regard. The 'Swedish Impressionist' manipulated paint onto canvas 'en plein air', with quick brushstrokes capturing the moment as he saw it with his own eyes. His impressionist style had earned him a place among the royalty in Sweden and he enjoyed illustrious life painting the European aristocracy in particular. Although his portraits are exceptional works that boldly combine the grandeur of court portraiture with the informal impressionist technique, it is his nudes en plein air for which he is best known. The present work, painted in 1907, shows how the artist dissolved the figure into the landscape which they seem to have emerged - foliage, forest, streams, rivers - with his use of rapid brushstrokes and subtle use of colour. Zorn often painted in the countryside and it was there that he could engage most with his surroundings and his models as he combined so effortlessly the time-honoured subject of the nude model with the essence of Swedish culture.