Art Of The Day Weekly

Zorn, amiable Paris and deep Sweden

PARIS – We’ve been waiting for this show for 111 years! Anders Zorn (1860-1920) has not been shown in Paris since 1906. Yet the Swedish painter was one of the favorites during the Belle Epoque, at the turn of the 19th century. He lived on boulevard de Clichy, and knew success at the Salon with his portraits of Paris socialites, which he could be proud of in front of those by Boldini and Carolus-Duran. His audacious nudes spiced up his glory with a touch of scandal. He travelled extensively, to Spain as a young man, to London, Istanbul, and Venice, and to America in seven different trips. Zorn could not resist the call from his native country, and at the age of 36, he settled in a town on the shores of lake Siljan, in the beloved Swedish plain of Dalecarlia, drawing changing landscapes and the nude, vigorous bodies of peasant women. A true lover of water colors, Zorn was also a gifted engraver. They say he drew the portrait of Renan on a brass plate in less than an hour. Through donations, in particular from the artist himself, the Bibliothèque nationale de France owns one of the most complete collections of his engraved works (75% of his 288 production), which represent an interesting section of the exhibition.
• Andres Zorn, le maître de la peinture suédoise at the Petit Palais, from 15 September to 17 December 2017.

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