CARL LARSSON. THE GOOD LIFE

Discover Carl Larsson’s Swedish dream at Ordrupgaard this autumn

Carl Larsson is known and loved for his idyllic portrayals of his family’s life in Sundborn, Sweden. This autumn, a broad selection of his works are on display at Ordrupgaard in the exhibition Carl Larsson. The good life. 25 September 2014 – 8 February 2015

The exquisite watercolour paintings by Carl Larsson give a charming insight into a home, where beauty and everyday life are inextricably linked. Through his popular illustrated albums, particularly Ett hem (A home), 1899, thousands of people all over the world have become acquainted with the artist’s timeless recipe for the good life. But Carl Larsson is more than merely an icon of Swedish national identity and the exhibition at Ordrupgaard highlights all aspects of the multifaceted artist. In Grez-sur-Loing , France, he not only achieved artistic success through his discovery of watercolour, he also met his future wife Karin. She was a talented artist herself, and the enormous influence she had on the interior of the couple’s famous home is highlighted through textiles and furniture from the Carl Larsson home in the exhibition.

Carl and Karin Larsson were a powerful duo in the artistic environment of their time, and although Carl Larsson made important contributions to both monumental painting and illustration, his accounts of everyday life in the home he shared  with Karin, stand out as his most significant contribution to art history.

The numerous paintings of the house, the children, and the surrounding Swedish nature creates an image of an ideal lifestyle, which is prospering even today, and truly cements Carl Larsson’s status as one of the greatest Nordic artists of all time.