Anders Zorn

Kerstin Thorborg;
Konsul R. Göhle, Norrköping, 1928;
The Bendix Foundation, Chicago;
From whom sold, New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 29 May 1942, lot 24;
There purchased by A. Eisinger;
Jorin B. Janger, 1980 (according to an inscription on the reverse);
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 27 March 1990, lot 33;
There purchased by the present collector.

E. Albert Engström, Zorn, Stockholm, 1928, p. 173, reproduced;
G. Boethius, Zorn, Tecknaren, Malaren, Etsaren, Skulptören, Stockholm, 1949, pp. 212, 516.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas has never been removed from its original stretcher. The painting is probably dirty yet restraint in cleaning may be advised since the paint layer is in such beautiful condition. In the lower stomach there is a very thin line of debris which should be removed elsewhere however there appear to be no losses, restorations or marks of any kind. This is picture is clearly in perfect condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Älvan is rare in Zorn's oeuvre of nudes, because the model is placed against the light and particularly detailed interior of his Stockholm studio rather than the rural landscapes surrounding the artist's native village of Mora. Despite its well-appointed, urban space, Älvan relates both compositionally and thematically to Zorn's celebrated nudes of 1906 to 1909, in which models' pale bodies are contrasted against forests' dark depths or reflected in streams and lakes. In the present work Zorn continues to experiment with light and texture, as the figure's right hand grasps a dark curtain set above a well-polished, glossy table surface, her left hand rests against the loosely-sketched worktable, and her feet stand on a woven rug with an abstract decorative pattern. The interior is painted in Zorn's favored palette of black and whites, earthy yellow-browns, and vermillion; these colors are echoed in the nude's skin tones, warmly illuminated, framed by shadow, and punctuated with warmer pinks of the knees and her bright red lips.  Many of the earlier nudes were given names or subjects drawn from Nordic mythology, a practice Zorn returned to with Älvan, which translates to "the fairy" or the "the elf".  While the artist often employed several models to create a single, composite figure, the present work's subject is said to be Elva Horney (whose name continues the folkloric play on words, as Elva can translate as "elf"). Such fanciful titles were inspired by the artist's nationalistic pride, particularly fervent in the beginning, transformative decades of the twentieth century.  Nudes like Älvan could suggest both the female body's vitality and personify Sweden's cultural heritage.  This allusion is further enriched by the inclusion of Zorn's small sculpture of a horse and rider resting atop a cabinet in the studio interior (see fig. 1). Titled Engelbrekt and conceived in 1910, the sculpture was intended to honor the fifteenth century hero Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, who gathered the peasants of Sweden to fight against the Danes (though a larger model and installation was planned for Stockholm's Parliament house, the project was unrealized). Many critics praised Zorn's sculptural work, as it brought him a greater understanding of the human form, allowing him to realize his painted nudes with a sense of solidity and immediacy.