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Lot Essay
It is perhaps in the portraits of children, as much as in her self-portraits, that Schjerfbeck's art is at its most expressive and uninhibited. Throughout her life, Schjerfbeck was continually hampered by a lack of suitable models for her depictions of the human visage, leading her to experiment with self-portraiture and with classical antecedents, as well as to re-interpret many of her earlier compositions. Her search for models also led her to paint local children; it is likely that Karin was a neighbour of Schjerfbeck's in Tammisaari, to where she had moved in July 1925. It is in the faces and poses of the children in such reprised works as The Convalescent and Girl at the Gate, as well as in works such as Margareta Wind from 1934 (Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Gothenburg) and the series of paintings of Karin from 1928, that Schjerfbeck attains a purity of subject and form that manages to capture a generic essence of childhood.
H. Ahtela (pseud. Einar Reuter) includes five works from 1928 depicting Karin (Girl with Large Eyes) in his 1953 biography of Schjerfbeck, adding a further work on paper in the 1966 edition (nos. 659-663 & 665c). The present work, perhaps the last in the series, is the most engaging and accessible of Schjerfbeck's depictions of Karin. The central feature of the series, creating not only the pictorial focus but also the subtitle of the work, is the girl's large eyes. Together with the slight tilt of the head and subtly raised eyebrows, Schjerfbeck creates an unusually playful image, combining a freshness and innocence that is arguably unsurpassed in her many other depictions of children.
Despite the simplicity and purity of the subject, the composition and execution display a complexity that is typical of Schjerfbeck's work of this time. The primary features of the girl, from eyebrows to chin, are tightly enclosed by two thick, horizontal lines, one white, one black, which, together with the two white spots that rest lightly on her shoulder and temple like photographic reflections (recalling the Girl from California), serve to frame the face and highlight the girl's features. The black line, merging as it does with Karin's hair, serves to reconcile the neutral colour of the background with the subtle nuances of the hair, while the white line under her chin marks the centre of the triangular composition and separates the upper and lower sections. The white line stands out in its purity like Mans' collar or like the startlingly brilliant highlight in The Landlord as a Young Man of 1926 (Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki), also included in the 1998 Millesgarden exhibition. Schjerfbeck uses the motif also in another depiction of Karin from 1928 (Ahtela 660) although here splits the stroke in two and lets it follow the neckline of the girl's garment, so that it appears more like Mans' shirt collar. The deftly applied highlights in Schjerfbeck's work serve both to strengthen and soften, to draw the eye in as well as to focus attention elsewhere.
The contrast between these two lines, as well as the chromatic split between the upper and lower halves of the composition, creates a duality and symmetry that is reinforced throughout the composition. The shape of the lips for example reflects the strong lines of the eyebrows, while the scraping back of the paint surface in one eyebrow is echoed below in the nostrils. Thus the face, and in turn the whole composition, becomes a network of interplay, a complex arrangement of connected motifs. The splash of colour barely contained in Karin's lips, so characteristic of Schjerfbeck's depictions of children and also used to great effect in works such as The Woodcutter from 1943 and The Stubborn Girl from 1938-39 (sold at Christie's London, 4 February 2003 for £215,000), is beautifully echoed in the pink colour that continues the white line below her chin. This in turn resounds in the subtle nuances of the girl's clothing, displaying a remarkable sensitivity to the relationship between colour and form. In Karin's hair, clothing and even in her facial features, colour and line appear as one, but also remain separate, without mixing or transmuting, attesting to Schjerfbeck's obsession with colour and complete mastery of composition and form.
H. Ahtela (pseud. Einar Reuter) includes five works from 1928 depicting Karin (Girl with Large Eyes) in his 1953 biography of Schjerfbeck, adding a further work on paper in the 1966 edition (nos. 659-663 & 665c). The present work, perhaps the last in the series, is the most engaging and accessible of Schjerfbeck's depictions of Karin. The central feature of the series, creating not only the pictorial focus but also the subtitle of the work, is the girl's large eyes. Together with the slight tilt of the head and subtly raised eyebrows, Schjerfbeck creates an unusually playful image, combining a freshness and innocence that is arguably unsurpassed in her many other depictions of children.
Despite the simplicity and purity of the subject, the composition and execution display a complexity that is typical of Schjerfbeck's work of this time. The primary features of the girl, from eyebrows to chin, are tightly enclosed by two thick, horizontal lines, one white, one black, which, together with the two white spots that rest lightly on her shoulder and temple like photographic reflections (recalling the Girl from California), serve to frame the face and highlight the girl's features. The black line, merging as it does with Karin's hair, serves to reconcile the neutral colour of the background with the subtle nuances of the hair, while the white line under her chin marks the centre of the triangular composition and separates the upper and lower sections. The white line stands out in its purity like Mans' collar or like the startlingly brilliant highlight in The Landlord as a Young Man of 1926 (Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki), also included in the 1998 Millesgarden exhibition. Schjerfbeck uses the motif also in another depiction of Karin from 1928 (Ahtela 660) although here splits the stroke in two and lets it follow the neckline of the girl's garment, so that it appears more like Mans' shirt collar. The deftly applied highlights in Schjerfbeck's work serve both to strengthen and soften, to draw the eye in as well as to focus attention elsewhere.
The contrast between these two lines, as well as the chromatic split between the upper and lower halves of the composition, creates a duality and symmetry that is reinforced throughout the composition. The shape of the lips for example reflects the strong lines of the eyebrows, while the scraping back of the paint surface in one eyebrow is echoed below in the nostrils. Thus the face, and in turn the whole composition, becomes a network of interplay, a complex arrangement of connected motifs. The splash of colour barely contained in Karin's lips, so characteristic of Schjerfbeck's depictions of children and also used to great effect in works such as The Woodcutter from 1943 and The Stubborn Girl from 1938-39 (sold at Christie's London, 4 February 2003 for £215,000), is beautifully echoed in the pink colour that continues the white line below her chin. This in turn resounds in the subtle nuances of the girl's clothing, displaying a remarkable sensitivity to the relationship between colour and form. In Karin's hair, clothing and even in her facial features, colour and line appear as one, but also remain separate, without mixing or transmuting, attesting to Schjerfbeck's obsession with colour and complete mastery of composition and form.