Zorn, as seen by his peers

Anders Zorn (1860-1920) was the star pupil of the Swedish Academy, and he left his fellow students spellbound.



"There were a number of able young men," recalled Bruno Liljefors, a fellow student at the Academy, "and it was a treat to walk about and look at their fresh lay-ins and to admire their pith, color, and truth, as was fashionable then. There were many discussions on the different methods of seeing, their stylish treatments, lucky accidents, etc., endlessly. But in front of Zorn's easel, with the whole crowd gathered around, there was absolute silence."

"One heard, occasionally, breaking the stunned silence, 'It's the devil.' That was all one heard. It was a powerful indication of how strongly we were all gripped. No one thought or intended criticism. One saw that here was a man with something to say and said it with such a clever and powerful voice there was nothing more to be said."

"Should anyone have asked us what it was that gripped us — whether it was the fine color harmony, originality or that it was so up-to-date, we could only have said: 'It was so goddamn good!"

"The subject of art lectures was 'truth.' One should paint it 'as it appears,' and painters everywhere began stressing correct values: Colors should be in correct relationship to each other. A single tone accurately judged and painted — color against color — in which the drawing became apparent on its own, was the best way to achieve this result."

"But no one dared take the fateful step to do it, to actually embark on this method; they hesitated as if before a precipice, held back, and smeared in details, compromising, until, finally, the whole thing didn't make sense."



"But Zorn never hesitated. Like a cat on the rain gutter of a roof, fully confident in its abilities, walking with the same calm up there as down on the ground — with the same self-assurance, Zorn solved the most dizzying problems with this method. He was the first to understand that by this method everything could be painted — from grass and stones, air and water, from women's skin to the life of the soul — only provided the man's hand didn't shake."

"And Zorn was unafraid. With merciless power he laid color beside color, and in this we have the crux of this so-called magician's quality. Because, by setting the correct values of the large forms, the onlooker himself sees the details, though none are painted, if the values are correct, and they must be correct."
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The Petit Palace in Paris is currently hosting an exhibition on Anders Zorn through 17 December 2017.
Quotes are from the book Bruno Liljefors: The Peerless Eye by Martha Hill.