Carl Larsson

Carl Larsson was an important Swedish painter from the 19th and 20th century.

Introduction

The artist was trained at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and became best known for his work with watercolors, though he also impressed with other mediums as well. His scenes were often of domestic life in Sweden and give us a visual insight into life at that time.

Carl was able to overcome a childhood of poverty through artistic education and slowly started to build his confidence through success at school. Drawing would always come first for young artists, and Carl Larsson would show immediate promise in that discipline, before slowly starting to spread his interest into other avenues of expression.

Biographical Summary

The artist was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1853 and had a difficult start in life as his family struggled in poverty. Carl was certainly closer to his mother, who provided for him whilst his father displayed a bitter, unhappy persona which proved unsuitable for effective parenting, whilst also causing the break up of the family unit.

Larsson was accepted into the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in his early teens, after encouragement for his school teacher, and from this point onwards his outlook would improve significantly. Carl Larsson showed early promise as a draughtsman, becoming highly regarded for his sketched portraits and eventually finding work as an illustrator.

By 1877 the artist relocated to Paris in search of opportunities but avoided the main central hub of artists and sought to forge his own path in conjunction with a number of other Swedish artists. In Grez-sur-Loing he would meet Karin Bergöö, who later became his wife and together they developed their talents in watercolor art.

They had eight children together, and these would bring inspiration to much of their work. The family later moved to Sundborn, in a house gifted to them by relatives, and this building would later become a museum dedicated to their artistic achievements. Carl died in 1919, after suffering ill health for a number of years, with his wife surviving for another decade.

Commercial Success for Husband and Wife

Larsson's watercolors proved highly popular in printed form, with a series of books selling in their thousands across Europe. His style and content offered something different to the Impressionist movement of the time, with his paintings being accessible to the masses. Many found his works charming and timeless, and the rise of reproduction printing in book illustrations was perfectly timed with the rise of his career, as well as that of his wife.

Content, Style and Mediums

Carl regularly portrayed scenes from his domestic life, often incorporating members of his family to be an authentic feel and happy atmosphere to his work. His talents as an illustrator allowed him to precisely map out form, whilst watercolor tones could bring bright color to his many creations. Self-portrait with Brita, a watercolor from 1895, is perhaps one of the best examples of that.

The clear lines found in his watercolors also suited reproduction forms, where individual details would work in multiple sizes, and the eventual success of their publications shocked the couple as their finances started to swell.

Karin Larsson was an accomplished painter herself but also became involved in several aspects of interior design. Many items found dotted around their home in various paintings by Carl, had been constructed by Karin herself. It seems that they continually inspired each other to experiment across different mediums and disciplines, and were not short of artistic inspiration despite having distanced themselves from other artists when living in Paris.