Eugene Jansson (Swedish, 1862-1915) Vid dörren (À la porte) signé, inscrit, et da...

Eugene Jansson (Swedish, 1862-1915)
Vid dörren (À la porte)
signé, inscrit, et daté 'Eugene Jansson/Knut Nyman 20/1907' (en bas à droite)
huile sur toile
200 x 90.2cm (78 3/4 x 35 1/2in).

signed, inscribed and dated (lower right)
oil on canvas
Footnotes:
Provenance
With Julian Hartnoll, London.

Eugene Jansson was born in 1862 in Stockholm, where he lived most of his life. After his studies at the Swedish Royal Academy, Jansson set up his studio in the south of the city, overlooking lakes Mälaren and Riddarfjärden. Inspired by the environment around him, he painted mainly urban cityscapes, and developed a particular interest for night-time scenes.

At the turn of the century, Jansson started to experiment in figurative painting with his first series of male subjects. The naturist movement emerging in Sweden inspired the artist to start painting nudes. Jansson had more of a philosophical approach to the nudity of his models, differing from the over idealised Greek nude and focused more on the crude reality of their bodies. In 1907, Jansson moved to the island of Skeppsholmen, where he painted several volunteer models from the Swedish Navy's bath house. The subjects of his paintings are often dynamic, training with weights, performing aerobics or swimming. These subjects illustrate the beginning of a new era of modern creation, not only for Janssen but for many Swedish artists.

With this particular painting, Jansson demonstrates his mastery of physical expression. His favourite model, Knut Nyam, is standing by a door without clothes and without complex. Jansson's signature colour which is seen in the background highlights perfectly the skin tones and brushstrokes. The controversial artist affirms his art and pioneering vision with this work.

Tor Hedburg wrote about Jansson's painting in the 1927 Minnesgestalter Stockholm: 'The male form, boldly and supremely, has made its entry into Swedish painting, not as a more or less academic study from models, deprived of real life, in an artificial pose, with neither exertion or repose, surrounded by atmospheric lights, using all the contemporary advantages in colour, model arrangement and gesture; they are products of an utterly creative, original art and at least within Swedish Art I know of nothing to match it.'
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * W
* VAT on imported items at a reduced rate of 5.5% on the hammer price and the prevailing rate on buyer's premium if the item remains in EU.

TVA sur les objets importés à un taux réduit de 5.5% sur le prix d'adjudication et un taux en vigueur sur la prime d'achat dans le cas où l'objet reste dans l'Union Européenne.
W Lot is located in the Bonhams Warehouse and will only be available for collection from this location.
Condition Report: The canvas has not been lined, it is slightly lose on the stretcher. There is a stretcher mark to the vertical stretcher.There is a light indentation to the canvas next to the sitter's arm in the upper right canvas. There is another indentation to the left of the sitter's face with a very small associated paint loss.There is a small area of craquelure to the ear, and paint separation to the sitter's right eyebrow.There is some surface dirt and a slightly discoloured varnish layer.UV light reveals spots of retouching to the lower left quadrant. There are a few small spots of retouching along the lower part of the right framed edge.