Margherita Kronberg - Staffan Kronberg Dressed as a Prince, 1911
Regular price 38,998.00 krMargherita Kronberg (1888–1927) Sweden
Staffan Kronberg Dressed as a Prince, 1911
signed and dated 1911
mixed media on paper
unframed 51.5 x 43.5
Essay:
Executed in 1911, just three years after Margherita Kronberg graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, this early drawing portrays the artist’s younger brother, Staffan, dressed in the elaborate attire of a young Renaissance prince. The composition demonstrates Kronberg’s foundation in turn-of-the-century realism. The careful rendering of the boy’s gentle, earnest expression and the intricate detail of his costume speak to the artist’s academic training and keen observation. Yet there is also an imaginative, storybook quality to the scene, as if the young subject has stepped out of a fairy tale into reality.
As an early 20th-century Swedish portrait, Staffan Kronberg Dressed as a Prince echoes the broader artistic context of its time. The tender portrayal of a child in costume calls to mind the beloved boyhood portraits of Carl Larsson, while the fanciful princely theme and fairy-tale atmosphere evoke the illustrations of John Bauer. Kronberg deftly blends affectionate realism with whimsical imagination, endowing the drawing with a distinct charm that bridges everyday life and fantasy.
Margherita Kronberg came from an artistic lineage, she was the daughter of acclaimed painter Julius Kronberg, and she belonged to a pioneering generation of women artists who strove to make their mark in the early modern era. This intimate portrait of her brother, created at the dawn of her career, stands as a testament to her budding talent and ambition, rendered with academic skill and personal warmth. Kronberg’s later works would soon embrace the bolder aesthetics of modernism and expressionism. Yet this piece remains firmly grounded in academic tradition, already hinting at the creative freedom that would come to define her mature oeuvre. Staffan Kronberg Dressed as a Prince thus not only memorializes a cherished familial moment, but also encapsulates an important early chapter in the evolution of a Swedish artist finding her voice in the era of emerging modernism.
Condition:
Paper slightly wavy with minor discoloration.
New frame with UV protective art glass.
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