Reflexions - Anders Zorn

A 1889 oil painting by Swedish artist Anders Zorn depicting a nude woman wading into sunlit water. The work focuses on the play of light and water.

Anders Zorn painted Reflexions in 1889, a period when he was establishing himself as a leading figure in European art. The work depicts a nude woman wading into a body of water, framed by tall reeds in the foreground. Zorn captures the effect of direct sunlight on the human form and the water surface. The light catches the model's shoulders and back, creating a contrast with the cooler tones of the shaded areas. The composition focuses on the interaction between light and water. Zorn used broad, confident brushstrokes to describe the ripples and the distorted reflection of the figure in the stream. This technique allows the viewer to perceive the movement of the current and the texture of the surrounding vegetation. The colour palette consists of warm ochres, pale yellows, earthy greens, and muted browns, balanced by the blue and violet tints in the shadows. Zorn was particularly interested in the challenge of painting skin tones in natural light. In this piece, he avoids academic stiffness in favour of a more immediate, observational approach. The model appears unposed, caught in a quiet moment of transition between the bank and the water. This naturalism is a characteristic feature of Zorn's work from the late nineteenth century. The painting is signed and dated in the lower right corner. It remains a significant example of Zorn's ability to merge figure painting with the study of light and atmosphere. The painting demonstrates his method of using oil paint to record the qualities of a summer day.