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***November 2008*** |
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Anders Zorn |
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Anders Zorn was born in Mora, Sweden on February 18, 1860. He was the son of Grudd Anna Andersdotter, he never knew his biological father. His mother’s family were farmers and she contributed to the family's income by working elsewhere. She had seasonal work in a brewery in Uppsala where she met the German brewer named Leonhard Zorn, who became her son's father. There was no discussion of marriage and Anders Zorn never met his father Leonhard who died in Helsinki in 1872. But the son was acknowledged and allowed to carry his father's name. Zorn was raised mainly by his grandparents in Mora
and at the age of 12 he was sent to a school in Enköping.
At the age of 15 he entered the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm
as he had shown an unusual artistic ability as a young boy. His
attention to detail in the horses and human figures he carved
out of wood in his spare time was well beyond his years. He planned
to become a sculptor but soon discovered painting after attending
school and painting prevailed. He chose watercolours as his medium
of choice which was rather uncommon at the time and this became
his main focus until around 1887. |
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At the Student exhibition in 1880, Zorn showed the watercolour painting entitled “ In Mourning”, which propelled him into the art world. The painting illustrates a young girl in mourning and it was admired for its skilfulness and masterful use of the medium. Several members of Stockholm society now turned to Zorn with commissions. His portraits of children were much appreciated and it was in connection with such a commission that Zorn met his future wife, Emma Zorn, in the beginning of 1881. 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 he was always at home, in Mora and in Dalarö where the Lamm family rented a summerhouse. During these years his style matured dramatically. 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. Emma and Anders Zorn spent the winter of 1887-88 in St Ives in Cornwall. This was an artistic turning point for Zorn. He began to paint in oils and the second oil painting he made 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. This period coincided with some of the high points of his artistry. From 1889 to 1894 he produced a number of works, which earned him a prominent position in the Paris art world. This 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 his self-portrait for the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. |
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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. He stayed for almost a year. This trip to the USA, the first of seven, was very important for him. Zorn enjoyed the American lifestyle and felt at home there. This first trip to the States was also of great importance for his art. He became known for his portraiture and returned to the U.S. several more times and in 1899 was commissioned to paint the American president Grover Cleveland and his wife and William Taft in 1911. His newfound fame as a portrait artist netted him a vast number of public and private commissions; he even made an etching of Theodore Roosevelt in 1905. In 1896 the Zorns decided to move home to Sweden. The move to Mora from Paris also resulted in a change of motif for Zorn. He did many paintings illustrating Mora and its residents though he was still in high demand as a portrait painter. The portrait commissions took a lot of his artistic energy. He developed a concise treatment of detail and a more sweeping brushstroke than earlier. By now his 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 in1909, the painting is an outstanding example of Zorn's mastery of technique. The international esteem Zorn received was not based solely on his paintings. He was an exquisite etcher as well. He had worked with this technique since 1882. He had developed his 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) and August Rodin (1906). |
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Zorn's health deteriorated markedly during his last years. He 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. He 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 he had sold and at the same time she continued the philanthropic work that the Zorns had initiated together. |
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