As a picture of pure enjoyment Young Girl Stretched Out On A Bench is difficult to equal and I would not have given it a second look had I not been reading The Guardian Angel at Adventures In The Print Trade. Carl Larsson, a purveyor of sentimentality I would have said.
The deliciousness of the scene is the first thing to appreciate. The utter relaxation of the little dachshund lying along her side, as the young woman reads the paper and cradles the cat, seems pictorially uncontrived. The tree offers protection from the sun just as it frames the scene, arcing toward the red pillow that has obviously been upended into its most comfortable position.
Only enumerate the feast of diagonals here. The green of the bench is counterpoised by the multi-colored cushion underneath her, complete with candy-striped fringe. The red stripes at the top of the blanket join with the red printed cushion to frame the young woman in her green and white striped dress. To put all this into words makes it sound busy and stiff, which it is not. Carl Larsson's masterpiece, I think.
Carl Olaf Larsson - Young Woman Stretched Out On A Bench, 1913, Louvre Museum, Paris.
9 comments:
Blissfully content, all three.
Absolutely charming! The eyes go round and round until they come to rest on the young woman's hands. You are right ... a masterpiece. I just may have to schedule another trip to Paris! - Jeanne
To capture a moment like this is not easy. I once attended a lecture by the art historian Ann Sutherland Harris, University of Pittsburgh, on the subject of male artists drawing and painting reclining women. Curiously, even the greats had problems, and the less clothing the women had on, the less skilled they became at drawing the human form!
I appreciate this blog very much.
I love this and must look up more of Larsson's work.
Thank you Consciousnesswalk for your kind words. And Ladybug, also. Be sure to check out the Carl Larsson article at "Adventures In The Print Trade" (see my links list).
Carl Larson...a true inspiration.
GREAT post!
Char.
Oh, I am having a little giveaway of my own on my blog this week...you must go see.
Thankyou for pointing me in that direction; what an interesting site. I must check out some more of your links.
Again, thank you for such kind words.
Ladybug, there are real treasures on the internet - enjoy!
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