Spanish Smiths

A work of art that belonged to the Lamm family collection was Ernst Josephson’s Spanish Smiths. Josephson went to Spain in 1881-82, where he was deeply influenced by the work of Velásquez. The painting was made during this trip. When Carl Robert Lamm bought it in 1893, Josephson had begun to suffer from the mental illness that was to change his art radically. In the same year an exhibition of Josephson’s paintings was organised, making him known to a wider public.
Ett konstverk som ingick i familjen Lamms samling var Ernst Josephsons Spanska smeder. Josephson reste 1881–1882 till Spanien och blev där starkt påverkad av den spanske 1600-talsmålaren Velásquez’ konst. Det var under denna resa som målningen tillkom. När Carl Robert Lamm köpte den 1893 hade Josephson insjuknat i den sinnessjukdom som radikalt ändrade hans konst. Samma år ordnades också en utställning med Josephsons måleri som gjorde honom känd för en bredare krets.