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Lot Essay
The present work relates to Gumma vid brasan of 1893 (Ateneum no. 135). Schjerfbeck's dealer, Gösta Stenman exercised an enormous influence on the artist's choice of subject matter during her final years, encouraging her to re-visit and re-interpret previous successful motifs in a fresh light. Not only did this afford the artist financial security but also contributed to her artistic satisfaction; she thus pursued her ambition of condensed simplification and the elimination of superfluity.
The present work was executed at Stenman's request and was the prototype for a series of lithographs produced in 1938-39 (Ateneum no. 424). Schjerfbeck was not pleased with the majority of the resulting prints and destroyed all but twelve, which she subsequently hand coloured. The present work, like the original oil of 1893, displays a remarkable poise and elegance in the figure's simple pose, which along with the dress and particularly the headdress, suggests a magical, witchlike aspect to her actions. The striking, yet subtle blue of the dress and the intense black of the scarf, compared with the mute tones of 1893, is typical of Schjerfbeck's bold but sparing use of colour in her later years.
The present work was executed at Stenman's request and was the prototype for a series of lithographs produced in 1938-39 (Ateneum no. 424). Schjerfbeck was not pleased with the majority of the resulting prints and destroyed all but twelve, which she subsequently hand coloured. The present work, like the original oil of 1893, displays a remarkable poise and elegance in the figure's simple pose, which along with the dress and particularly the headdress, suggests a magical, witchlike aspect to her actions. The striking, yet subtle blue of the dress and the intense black of the scarf, compared with the mute tones of 1893, is typical of Schjerfbeck's bold but sparing use of colour in her later years.