Alma Arnell - Städerskan (The Cleaning Woman), 1903

Alma Arnell (1857–1934) Sweden

Städerskan (The Cleaning Woman), 1903

signed and dated lower right
oil on canvas
unframed 94 × 54 cm (37 × 21.3 in)
framed 104 × 64 cm (40.9 × 25.2 in)

Label on the Reverse
A handwritten label records the title Städerskan, the medium as “Rafaelli färg”, a price of 300 kronor, and the artist’s name and address.

Essay:
In Städerskan, Alma Arnell gives a working woman the concentrated attention of an individual portrait. Standing in profile against a pale background, the sitter occupies almost the entire height of the canvas. Her hair is drawn back, her sleeves are rolled up, and a dark shawl falls across her shoulders. There is little surrounding detail to explain her circumstances. Instead, the painting’s force resides in her presence: the firmly drawn profile, the lowered arm and the gaze directed beyond the picture.

The bucket is introduced with particular economy. Its handle rests in her hand, while the vessel itself is largely excluded by the lower edge. This fragment is enough to establish the nature of her work without turning the composition into an illustration of housekeeping. The long, exposed forearm connects face and hand, drawing attention to the physical body upon which that work depends.

For a cleaning woman around 1903, labour involved sustained physical effort. Floors were scrubbed with brushes and soap, furnishings carried and beaten, and water transported wherever plumbing was unavailable. These conditions provide a context for the bucket and rolled sleeves, but the sitter’s individual circumstances remain unknown. We cannot establish where she worked or how she lived. Arnell’s portrait encourages precisely these questions without supplying an anecdote to answer them.

Her expression is similarly unresolved. The averted gaze might suggest fatigue, concentration or a moment of private thought. What matters is that she is not presented merely as someone performing a task. The near metre-high canvas gives her a substantial presence, while the restrained setting allows her individuality to emerge independently of her occupation.

Born in Säbrå in Ångermanland, Alma Arnell studied under Gustaf Cederström, Axel Jungstedt and Anders Zorn before continuing her education at the Académie Colarossi in Paris and through extended periods in Italy. Her production encompassed portraits, landscapes and genre subjects. Nationalmuseum’s holdings include her Portrait of the Artist Lotten Rönquist, dated 1898, and Study from Pompeii, signed and dated 1899, demonstrating both her interest in people and her experience of southern European settings.

Arnell also belonged to a significant network of women artists in Stockholm. She worked alongside Lotten Rönquist in the studio premises at Hamngatan 5 where Hilma af Klint painted The Ten Largest in 1907. Following Rönquist’s death in 1912, Arnell shared the studio with af Klint. 

The handling of colour gives The Cleaning Woman much of its expressive character. Blue, green and muted violet enliven the dark clothing, while rose and ochre animate the face and arm. Fine directional strokes remain visible throughout, allowing drawing and painting to operate together. The reverse label’s reference to “Rafaelli färg” is therefore particularly intriguing. It appears to refer to the solid oil colours developed by Jean-François Raffaëlli and marketed from 1902.