The Painter Bruno Liljefors

In this portrait, Anders Zorn has placed Bruno Liljefors in a winter landscape. The painting can be read as an allusion to Liljefors’ own imagery. In the same way that the animals in his paintings are hidden, the artist here blends into the surroundings. No light falls on his face, and his body is half-obscured by the snow-laden branches. Carl Larsson’s friendship with Anders Zorn appears to have been founded partly on his admiration for Zorn as an artist, while he looked down on many of the other Swedish painters – with the exception of Bruno Liljefors.
I detta porträtt har Anders Zorn placerat Bruno Liljefors i ett vinterlandskap. Porträttet kan tolkas som en anspelning på Liljefors egen bildvärld. Liksom djuren i hans målningar är gömda i terrängen, förenas här konstnären själv med naturen. Inget ljus faller över hans ansikte och halvt dold bakom de snötyngda grenarna vävs hans gestalt samman med vegetationen.