DOI issue:
Nr. 158 (April 1910)
DOI article:Bröchner, Georg: Some notable Swedisch etchers
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19866#0169
Some Notable Swedish Etchers
the reversal resulting from the printing. Thus in lover of and authority on art, boasts an almost
the portrait of the Dowager-Queen of Sweden, equally complete collection, which, to boot, is
in Mother, In the Omnibus, and one or two unsurpassed as regards the quality of the individual
of the Night Study plates to mention a few etchings : those reproduced in this issue have been
examples, right and left have been reversed, which kindly lent by Mr. Laurin. The Bibliotheque
all tends to show with what impulsive freedom Nationale in Paris also has a representative col-
Zorn handles his needle. I may add here that lection, and amongst private collectors come first
Zorn allows the acid thoroughly to " bite " the Mr. Charles Deering, Chicago, and Mr. and Mrs.
plate. Atherton Curtis, Paris.
Zorn's etchings are most highly treasured by Carl Larsson, whose very name is a household
museums and collectors, their value being further word in all Sweden—he is generally called Car'-
enhanced by the fact that, with a few exceptions, larsson in one word, quickly spoken, with the
they are only printed in an extremely limited emphasis on the second syllable—early took an
number of copies, from one upwards, to four or interest in etching, and obtained his first instruc-
six or twelve, and the plates are always destroyed. tion, whilst yet a struggling though very clever
The National Museum in Stockholm owns the young illustrator, at an etchers' class started by
most comprehensive collection, but the well-known a Dutch master in Stockholm. Through what
Swedish collector, Mr. Thorsten Laurin, a great now almost looks like a perverse freak, Larsson,
the lover of sunshine and colour
and all that is fair and graceful,
chose for his first motif a couple
» ■ of naked old men! The result
' •' must have been somewhat dis-
couraging, for he did not again
JgJSHK^I})5 biKy himself with the needle until
r^Mf A during his stay in Paris, 1888-
1889. One of his first etchings
/ "*^5;. from that period, and a very charm-
ing one, was Graziella, a modest
J;/i f- ^^^^ M'Jz'A^j/ pjfek little maiden, timidly wondering
/J fx /ffiFtF* j /Tift J I whether she would do for a model.
/ It marked a great advance, and
A\> \ foreshadowed that indefinable,
persuasive Larssonian charm, so
J I \ \V::;Jx personal and so unconventional,
which has become perhaps the
{A\g£L most distinctive feature of his
„iA manhood's work, at least under
\ >»—'''.^"i r.-\ the aspect that concerns us here.
In 1891 Larsson did his first
V \' -'-'v- colour etching, Lisbeth, with one
plate. By-and-by he adopted two
plates for this kind of work, a line
S':A\ 1 etching for the contours and an
_____>j aquatint plate for the colours.
He again attended a school for
etching and did a number of
plates, also experimenting with
soft ground and mezzotints, in
some cases with extremely clever
:\ results. I and Brita, a large etch-
ing, is from 1896, and is very
typical of one side of his work,
'karin and kerstin" by carl larsson teeming with drollery and humour,
120
i
1
r
J 1
the reversal resulting from the printing. Thus in lover of and authority on art, boasts an almost
the portrait of the Dowager-Queen of Sweden, equally complete collection, which, to boot, is
in Mother, In the Omnibus, and one or two unsurpassed as regards the quality of the individual
of the Night Study plates to mention a few etchings : those reproduced in this issue have been
examples, right and left have been reversed, which kindly lent by Mr. Laurin. The Bibliotheque
all tends to show with what impulsive freedom Nationale in Paris also has a representative col-
Zorn handles his needle. I may add here that lection, and amongst private collectors come first
Zorn allows the acid thoroughly to " bite " the Mr. Charles Deering, Chicago, and Mr. and Mrs.
plate. Atherton Curtis, Paris.
Zorn's etchings are most highly treasured by Carl Larsson, whose very name is a household
museums and collectors, their value being further word in all Sweden—he is generally called Car'-
enhanced by the fact that, with a few exceptions, larsson in one word, quickly spoken, with the
they are only printed in an extremely limited emphasis on the second syllable—early took an
number of copies, from one upwards, to four or interest in etching, and obtained his first instruc-
six or twelve, and the plates are always destroyed. tion, whilst yet a struggling though very clever
The National Museum in Stockholm owns the young illustrator, at an etchers' class started by
most comprehensive collection, but the well-known a Dutch master in Stockholm. Through what
Swedish collector, Mr. Thorsten Laurin, a great now almost looks like a perverse freak, Larsson,
the lover of sunshine and colour
and all that is fair and graceful,
chose for his first motif a couple
» ■ of naked old men! The result
' •' must have been somewhat dis-
couraging, for he did not again
JgJSHK^I})5 biKy himself with the needle until
r^Mf A during his stay in Paris, 1888-
1889. One of his first etchings
/ "*^5;. from that period, and a very charm-
ing one, was Graziella, a modest
J;/i f- ^^^^ M'Jz'A^j/ pjfek little maiden, timidly wondering
/J fx /ffiFtF* j /Tift J I whether she would do for a model.
/ It marked a great advance, and
A\> \ foreshadowed that indefinable,
persuasive Larssonian charm, so
J I \ \V::;Jx personal and so unconventional,
which has become perhaps the
{A\g£L most distinctive feature of his
„iA manhood's work, at least under
\ >»—'''.^"i r.-\ the aspect that concerns us here.
In 1891 Larsson did his first
V \' -'-'v- colour etching, Lisbeth, with one
plate. By-and-by he adopted two
plates for this kind of work, a line
S':A\ 1 etching for the contours and an
_____>j aquatint plate for the colours.
He again attended a school for
etching and did a number of
plates, also experimenting with
soft ground and mezzotints, in
some cases with extremely clever
:\ results. I and Brita, a large etch-
ing, is from 1896, and is very
typical of one side of his work,
'karin and kerstin" by carl larsson teeming with drollery and humour,
120
i
1
r
J 1