Another birthday gift for myself is a part time class at university in Art History; The Mask of Beauty. It covers portraits and fashion during the 16’th throughout the 19’th century. Nationalmuseum in Stockholm recently released more than 3 000 copy right expired paintings to Wikimedia Commons for free use. Lots of beautiful portraits! My absolute favorite when browsing through them all is “Kål-Margit”, a portrait of a young Dalecarlian girl knitting, by famous painter Anders Zorn. If you ever visit Dalecarlia, don't miss the Zorn-museum! Why do I like this portrait so much?
First of all; I like portraits of women. Women make up half the population - therefore should be portrayed in proportion to that. Secondly; I like the natural pose. She sits there carrying on her business, and I just observe. I like paintings of people actually doing something. That someone found it important enough to capture it and preserve it for the future. In this case “it” is knitting, a womens do with too low a status, but still depictured by one of the greatest artists of the country. Thirdly; She's darn pretty! My not-so-wild guess is that's why she was portrayed. Zorn had a thing for pretty young farm girls… On a deeper level I guess it has to do with identification - this portrait speaks to me on many levels.
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As a 40'th birthday gift for myself I've given myself the permission to blog in my second language. I come from Sweden and live close by the Ostrogothian plain. I have a thing for farmland, great views, wind mills and the epic scenery that mile after mile of thriving fields make up. When not overwhelmed by this beautiful place I call home, I also have a thing for many less grandeur phenomenons such as gardening and making pickles and jams. And surface pattern making. We must not forget that! That's why this blog is here - to share the joy of art, patterns and all the good things in life! Very late Sunday evening. All the guests had left, the son was asleep and the bubbles had left the pink champagne. Finally time for opening the gifts, and then take care of the kitchen kaos. Cheers!
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AuthorSurface pattern designer who loves folk art, gardening and the good things in life. Archives
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