Carl Larsson. The Painter of Swedish Life

18 June - 17 July 1994

Hours: 9:30a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Entry is permitted thirty minutes before the galleries are closed.
Closed: Closed on Mondays

Admission: charged

Please accept our heartiest greetings on this occasion. As organizers, we are pleased to announce this great retrospective exhibition of the work of noted Swedish artist Carl Larsson. This is the first time such an exhibition has been held in Japan. This exhibition will appear at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Museum, the Mie Prefectural Art Museum, the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, and at the Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art.

Carl Larsson (1853-1919) is representative of the artists of Sweden from the late nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. He drew the customs and the history of his country, his family, and his home with a great deal of affection. He pursued the peace of his family, breathing into his graceful works of art.

Larsson was born in Stockholm in 1853. This is the year Vincent van Gogh was born and, in Japan, the year Commodore Perry’s fleet of the United States steamed into Japan. Born in a poor family, Larsson started his career as an illustrator. Through hard work, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm in 1877 and went to Paris. He was accepted and rejected repeatedly at the Salon, and after continuous effort, he proved his ability in the medium of watercolor.

After returning to Sweden, he lived in Sundborn in the Dalarna region, west of Stockholm, and became a central figure in the anti-academy movement and the National Romanticism movement in the arts. It was here in Sundborn where he had seven children by his wife Karin, built up peaceful home, and drew warm and affectionate watercolors of both.

Published in 1899, A Home became very popular in Europe, and it was also published in Japan later.

Impressionism was on the rise when Larsson was active in Paris. He took great interest in Japonisme, and his distinctive line drawing technique and bright colors were no doubt influenced by ukiyoe. Seventy-five years after his passing, Larsson must now be the happiest person in heaven as a retrospective of his work opens for the first time in Japan.

For the exhibition, 140 precious works of art including oil paintings, watercolors, and dessin have been borrowed from the National museum, Stockholm, the Goteborg Art Museum, the Carl Larssongarden, Sundborn, and individual collectors in Sweden. (As some works will be shifted, 134 pieces will be displayed at each exhibition site.)

We thank from the bottom of our hearts Mr. 0lle Granath, Director of three National Art Museums in Sweden, Mr. Torsten Gunnarsson, curator of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, and his assistant Ms. Lillie Johansson, who greatly assisted us in realizing this exhibition. We also thank the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the Embassy of Sweden in Japan, Kao Corporation, the Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance, Erikson Toshiba Telecommunication Systems, and the Scandinavian Airlines System and all the individuals and institutions for their support and cooperation.