SOMETIMES SO COLD AND YET SO WARM...........
The poster for the expo. For a country as cold as Sweden, the gentleness of Carl Larsson’s work makes me feel it is an idyllic country - but not in winter, definitely not.
I discovered Larsson’s work in Finland for the first time. He was born in an old quarter of Stockholm in May 1853. His family was very poor and Carl grew up in dismal circumstances. The only glimmer of hope was his strong artistic talent, which emerged early on in his life. After a difficult beginning in an Art School, especially as he felt out of his element in this social circle, he began to feel more confident and it was not long before he became one of the central figures in student circles. The turning point came in 1882 when he moved to Grez, a Scandinavian artists’ colony outside Paris. It was there he met his future wife Karin Bergöö and underwent an artistic transformation after abandoning his pretentious oil painting in favour of watercolours - a lucky move that would mean a lot for his artistic