Gerhard Henning - The Flute Player, 1904
Regular price 140,067.00 krGerhard Henning (1880–1967) Swedish-Danish
Flöjtspelaren (The Flute Player), 1904
signed with monogram and dated lower left
charcoal and ink on paper
unframed 33 × 24 cm (13 × 9.4 in)
framed 45 × 36 cm (17.7 × 14.1 in)
Provenance:
The singer and actor Gunnar Bohman (1882–1963)
and the artist Signe Bohman (1885–1987), Stockholm.
Exhibited:
Probably Stockholm, Konstnärshuset, 1905, together with Oskar Bergman, Ivar Arosenius and Arvid Jacobsson.
Gothenburg, 1908, Ivar Arosenius, Sigge Bergström och Gerhard Henning, catalogue no. 166, “Flöjtspelare”.
Essay:
Executed in 1904, Flöjtspelaren belongs to the earliest and most poetic phase of Gerhard Henning’s artistic career. Before achieving international recognition as one of the foremost Scandinavian sculptors of the twentieth century, Henning worked primarily as a draughtsman, painter and printmaker. During these formative years he moved within the close artistic circle surrounding Ivar Arosenius, Ole Kruse and Oskar Bergman in Gothenburg and Stockholm. Their generation sought an alternative to naturalism and academic realism, turning instead toward symbolism, decorative stylisation and literary imagination.
In Flöjtspelaren, Henning creates an atmosphere that is profoundly introspective and dreamlike. The solitary flute player stands at the centre of the composition, shown in strict profile and enveloped by tall vertical tree trunks that almost resemble a theatrical curtain. Behind the figure appears a narrow stretch of water reflecting the distant light of a star filled night sky. The bowed head, elongated silhouette and silent nocturnal setting transform the work into something less descriptive than psychological. Rather than illustrating a narrative event, Henning evokes an emotional and spiritual state.
The composition reveals the artist’s fascination with British fin de siècle illustration, particularly the works of Aubrey Beardsley, Walter Crane and William Morris. Their influence can be seen in the refined linearity, decorative rhythm and flattened spatial construction. At the same time the drawing possesses a distinctly Nordic melancholy that connects it closely to the symbolist tendencies emerging in Sweden during the first years of the twentieth century.
Henning’s early works on paper from this period are comparatively rare. Many were executed before his transition toward sculpture and before his eventual move into the Danish artistic milieu where he later became celebrated for his monumental female figures and porcelain works for Royal Copenhagen. In drawings such as Flöjtspelaren, however, one encounters a different Gerhard Henning: a young artist deeply engaged with poetry, music, myth and the inner world of symbolism.
The decorative dating device in the lower left corner, reading “19 [crown] 04”, closely relates to inscriptions found in other early works by the artist, including Kärlek-sången from 1905 in the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
The previous owner, Gunnar Bohman, belonged to the same bohemian and artistic circle as Henning and Arosenius during the opening years of the century. The drawing therefore remains closely connected to the intimate cultural environment from which it originally emerged.
Condition report
The drawing has been with conservator Lotta Möller and is considered to be in very good condition. Please contact us for a more information.
Presented in a newly produced frame by Stockholm Förgyllning & Bildhuggeri.
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