Saturday, February 17, 2018

Anna Boberg's Painting Rig

Swedish artist Anna Boberg (1864-1935) was a self-taught innovator, and she developed an unusual design for a plein-air easel.

Anna Boberg
The painting was held in a frame that attached to a waist band and propped up against her right leg.


In addition to her winter landscapes, Boberg was known for her writing and her Art-Nouveau ceramics.
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Anna Boberg on Wikipedia
Thanks Ricky Mujica and Gregory Dunham

8 comments:

Al Granberg said...

That is an ingenious rig. I’m wondering if the leg brace would also rest on the ground should she decide to work seated. I’m also surprised at the large studio size palette she is using for plein-air. Amazing!

Warren JB said...

Brilliance!

Steve said...

Once again, thanks for the introduction to an artist who would otherwise fly below my radar. Reading Anna’s Wikipedia biography, she seems to have been a remarkable person. I have a feeling she was fun and interesting to be with.

babangada r said...

LOVE her inventions!

Tyler J said...

Looks like there is a sheet behind her to bounce light onto the painting? Or perhaps she just set up in front of it coincidentally. Would that change the light quality falling onto her painting vs that of her subject in the environment?

James Gurney said...

Tyler, I just assumed she put that sheet there as a backdrop to make the silhouette clearer in the photo. Taking a photo was a bigger deal for folks back then than it is for us, and she may have wanted to clearly document her setup.

Staffan Alsparr said...

Very late comment, but I thought it could be fun to add some trivia. Anna Boberg was married to Ferdinand Boberg, a famous architect and artist himself, and her sister Ellen was married to Julius Kronberg, the academic painter I sent information about that you used for a post some time ago. Quite the artistic family! Here is also a painting from an auction house that was apparently a collaboration between Anna and Julius. https://www.metropol.se/auctions/detail.asp?OG={4038AFD9-062B-11D7-AA16-000102A05E17}

Mara B said...

To Tyler J Perhaps that sheet would serve an important purpose in sending bounce light to her canvas making it easier to see against the brightness of the snow scene in front of her. I've had trouble adjusting my eyes trying to paint outdoors with the canvas in shadow.