Ferdinand Fagerlin - Wishing It Were She

Ferdinand Fagerlin (1825–1907) Sweden

Wishing It Were She ( Önskandes att det var hon) 

Ferd. Fagerlin (lower right)
oil on canvas
unframed: 17 × 21.5 cm (6.7 × 8.5 in)
framed: 30.5 × 35 cm (12 × 13.8 in)

Provenance:
Private Swedish collection

Essay
This small, intimate oil painting Wishing It Were She is a preparatory study for a larger composition of the same title. The scene depicts three figures in a richly furnished 19th-century interior: a young woman stands by a table, a seated young man converses with another woman, and a dog sprawls contentedly on the floor in the foreground. The arrangement is intimate yet subtly theatrical, as if a quiet domestic drama is unfolding on a stage. Warm tones and richly textured costumes and furnishings draw the viewer into the narrative. The title hints at unspoken romantic longing, suggesting that the young man may be wistfully imagining the standing woman in place of his current companion. Despite its small size, the study brims with narrative realism and finely observed detail, capturing a moment of everyday life imbued with emotional undercurrents.

Ferdinand Fagerlin painted this work during his years in Düsseldorf, and it exemplifies the hallmarks of the Düsseldorf School of painting. Educated at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Karl Ferdinand Sohn and Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow, Fagerlin absorbed that academy’s emphasis on strong draftsmanship, meticulous detail, and dramatic composition. The influence of the Düsseldorf School is apparent in the painting’s carefully structured grouping of figures and the almost stage-like setting that reinforces the story. At the same time, the subject matter is domestic and anecdotal, a slice of everyday life, reflecting the Düsseldorf artists’ interest in genre scenes as well as their narrative clarity. Fagerlin, a Swedish-born painter who settled in Germany, became known for such genre paintings that combined academic technique with the portrayal of ordinary people. His membership in the Düsseldorf artists’ association Malkasten and his ties to a community of Scandinavian painters there positioned him as a key Nordic figure in this international art movement. In Wishing It Were She, one can see Fagerlin’s keen attention to the textures of fabric, the play of warm indoor light, and the expressive gestures of his characters, all of which attest to his training and talent as a storyteller in paint.

The subject and style of this piece also speak to the broader popularity of genre painting in the 19th century. European audiences and collectors of the time greatly enjoyed paintings of everyday life, especially those with a touch of sentiment or moral narrative. In an era when large historical or religious works dominated academic salons, scenes of domestic intimacy like Fagerlin’s offered a relatable alternative. They were often populated with lovingly rendered details, from the faithful dog at the hearth to the bird in hand, that lent authenticity and charm. Genre paintings such as this were eagerly collected by the growing middle class, who found in them both aesthetic pleasure and reflections of their own social world. Fagerlin’s work, in particular, often drew inspiration from Northern European settings and 17th-century Dutch painting traditions, evident in his precise depiction of interiors and costumes. This influence resulted in images that felt at once true-to-life and nostalgically picturesque, satisfying 19th-century tastes for realism tempered with warmth and sentimentality.

As a preparatory study, Wishing It Were She holds special value for understanding Fagerlin’s artistic approach. Though modest in scale, the painting is executed with a confidence and completeness that suggest it may have been shown to patrons or used by the artist to refine the composition of the final large canvas. (The finished version, measuring 85 × 103 cm, was sold at Sotheby’s in 2004, 21.600€) 

Sources
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon – “Ferdinand Julius Fagerlin (1825–1907)” (Stockholm: National Archives of Sweden, 1953).
- Bettina Baumgärtel (ed.), Die Düsseldorfer Malerschule und ihre internationale Ausstrahlung 1819–1918, vol. 1 (Petersberg: Michael Imhof, 2011).
- Encyclopedia Britannica – “Düsseldorf school (painting)”, Britannica Academic Edition.
- Wikipedia – “Ferdinand Fagerlin” (biographical article) and “Genre painting” (general overview of 19th-century genre art).

Condition Report:
Minor age-related craquelure consistent with the painting’s age. Varnish is aged but stable, Colors remain bright and clear, The work is ready to hang and presents well overall.