Anders Zorn

Key facts

Lived

1860–1920, Swedish

Movements

• Impressionism
• Realism

Works held in

34 museums^[1]

• Aktstudie

  Nationalmuseum

  Stockholm, Sweden

  80 works

  

  Museum detailsMap
• At the Bathtub

  Thiel Gallery

  Stockholm, Sweden

  18 works

  

  Museum detailsMap
• Bather with Parasol, Dalarö

  Gothenburg Museum of Art

  Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden

  16 works

  

  Museum detailsMap
• Nude woman combing her hair

  Musée d'Orsay

  Paris, France

  6 works

  Museum detailsMap
• Country festival

  Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

  Moscow, Russia

  1 works

  Museum detailsMap
• Dr. William Taussig

  Speed Art Museum

  Louisville, United States

  1 works

  Museum detailsMap

Plan your visit to see Anders Zorn →

• Anders zorn art movement?+

  Anders L. Zorn of Sweden became known outside his own country during the nineteenth century.
• What is anders zorn known for?+

  Anders Zorn is known as one of the finest portrait painters and etchers of his generation. His ability to render water and flesh with loose, confident brushwork also set him apart.
• What is Anders Zorn's most famous work?+

  Anders Zorn (1860-1920) was a Swedish painter, printmaker, and sculptor. He travelled in Europe and North America, becoming one of the most cosmopolitan Swedish artists of his time. While it is difficult to name a single "most famous" work, "Dagmar" (1911) is a well-known example of his style. The oil-on-canvas painting depicts a nude woman at the edge of a lake. Her pink skin is reflected in the rocks, and the greens of nature are beyond her. Although there is nothing overtly erotic about the figure, her voluptuous body beckons the viewer to look at the painting, and there is something innocently sensuous about her pose. Zorn also made an etching of this composition and created prints of his paintings and sculpture. Zorn's style allies him to the Impressionists, due to his use of moving light and colour. However, his solid forms, luminosity, and natural feeling are characteristic of Scandinavian painting at the turn of the century.
• What should I know about Anders Zorn's prints?+

  Anders Zorn was a Swedish artist active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While he is celebrated as a painter and sculptor, he was also a prolific printmaker, particularly known for his etchings. The etching revival of the late 1800s created a market for fine art prints. Specialist publications, such as *The Etcher*, were devoted to the medium. In 1880, Seymour Haden founded the Royal Society of Painter Etchers. Zorn's prints were part of this movement. Original prints, such as etchings, are produced by hand. The artist creates the artwork directly on a plate. Since the plates can only withstand a certain amount of use, the number of prints is limited. Some publishers impose their own limits to increase a print’s value. These limits may be set as high as 700 to 1,000 impressions, but some prints are limited to just 250 to 500, making them highly prized by collectors.
• What style or movement did Anders Zorn belong to?+

  Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is usually associated with Impressionism, although his style incorporates elements of Naturalism and Realism. He is best known for his society portraits, genre scenes, and depictions of nudes in outdoor settings. Zorn's early work displays academic training, but he soon adopted a looser, more painterly approach influenced by French Impressionism. He shared Impressionism's interest in capturing fleeting moments and the effects of light. However, Zorn retained a stronger emphasis on form and structure than many Impressionists, possibly due to his academic background. His approach also aligns with Naturalism, which sought to depict subjects realistically, often focusing on everyday life. Zorn's paintings of Swedish peasants and working-class people reflect this interest. He also shared Realism's concern with portraying the world as it is, without idealisation. While Zorn's work contains Impressionist elements, his distinctive style sets him apart. He combined Impressionistic techniques with a concern for form and a realistic approach to subject matter, creating a unique synthesis.
• What techniques or materials did Anders Zorn use?+

  Anders Zorn was primarily a painter, etcher, and sculptor. He is best known for his oil paintings, which often depicted scenes of everyday life, portraits, and nudes. Zorn's painting technique involved a limited palette of colours, typically black, white, yellow ochre, and vermilion. He used these colours to create a wide range of tones and effects, often employing broken brushstrokes and a alla prima (wet-on-wet) approach. This allowed him to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. He also made use of a technique called "Zorn's palette", which is a reduced colour palette that some artists still use today. In addition to oil paint, Zorn was a skilled watercolourist. His watercolours are characterised by their fluidity and transparency. He also produced a substantial body of etchings, using techniques such as aquatint and drypoint to create tonal variations and textures. His etchings often mirrored the subjects of his paintings, including portraits, genre scenes, and nudes.
• What was Anders Zorn known for?+

  Anders Zorn (1860-1920) was a Swedish artist known for his paintings, sculpture, and printmaking. He travelled extensively in Europe and North America, becoming one of the most cosmopolitan Swedish artists of his time. Zorn's paintings often featured figures in natural settings. One example, Dagmar (1911), depicts a nude woman at the edge of a lake, her pink skin reflected in the water. The composition has an innocent sensuality, characteristic of Scandinavian painting at the turn of the century. Although his "dancing brush and moving light and colour" ally him to the Impressionists, his solid forms mark him as distinct. Zorn was also interested in capturing scenes of modern life. He aimed to give the impression, the sensation, of his subject matter.
• What was anders zorn known for painting?+

  Anders Zorn is known for painting portraits. He painted three sitting American presidents: Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt.
• When did anders zorn die?+

  Anders Zorn died in 1920 at the age of 60.
• When did Anders Zorn live and work?+

  Anders Zorn was born in Mora, Sweden, on 18 February 1860. He died there on 22 August 1920. He is best known as a painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Zorn studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm from 1875 to 1880. He quickly gained recognition for his skill as a portrait painter, and his work became popular both in Europe and the United States. He lived in London and Paris between 1881 and 1885, before returning to Sweden. During his career, Zorn travelled extensively, visiting countries such as Spain, Italy, and Algeria. These travels influenced his art, as he captured the daily life and culture of the places he visited. He is particularly celebrated for his depictions of women in natural settings, often using a distinctive, energetic etching style. He was commissioned to paint portraits of several American presidents, including Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt.
• Where can I see Anders Zorn's work?+

  Anders Zorn's works are held in numerous public and private collections, with significant holdings in Sweden and the United States. The Zornmuseet (Zorn Museum) in Mora, Sweden, is dedicated to his art and life. It contains a wide selection of his paintings, sculptures, and graphic works, as well as his personal collections. The Nationalmuseum^[3] in Stockholm also possesses a number of important paintings by Zorn. Outside of Sweden, the United States holds a notable collection of his works. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston features Zorn's portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner, commissioned in 1894. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City includes several of his paintings and etchings, offering a view of his skill in both painting and printmaking. The Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., also have examples of his art. These collections allow viewers to see the breadth of Zorn's artistic output, from society portraits to scenes of Swedish life.
• Where was Anders Zorn from?+

  Anders Zorn was Swedish. He was born in Mora, Sweden, in 1860. His father was German, and his mother was Swedish. Zorn spent much of his childhood with his maternal grandparents on their farm. This upbringing instilled in him a strong connection to Swedish rural life, a theme that would appear later in his art. Zorn began his artistic training at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, between 1875 and 1880. After his studies, he travelled extensively throughout Europe, spending time in London, Paris, and Spain. Despite his international travels, Zorn maintained close ties to his homeland. He frequently returned to Sweden, particularly to Mora. In 1896, Zorn and his wife Emma moved back to Mora permanently. They established their home, known as Zorngården, which is now a museum. Zorn's Swedish identity remained a central aspect of his life and work. He died in Mora in 1920.