Description
The swirling brushstrokes and telescopic perspective in this view of a field near Stockholm, Sweden, converge on the dark mass of trees and dying sunset in the center. Feelings of melancholy and loneliness are relieved only by the appearance of the first evening star. Although little known in the United States, Eugène Janssen was one of the most important artists of Scandinavian modernism. He became aware of the works of the Norwegian Symbolist Edvard Munch as early as 1884 and shared Munch’s ambition of exploring psychological states of mind rather than adhering to external appearances.
Provenance
Richard Bergh [1858-1919], Stockholm, Sweden friend of the artist; Adrian Bergh, son of Richard Bergh, Stockhom, Sweden (-1980s); The Bergh Family Collection, Stockholm, Sweden until the 1980s (-1980s); (Claes Moser, Stockholm, Sweden, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (-2005); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005-)
Accession Number
2005.4
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 94 x 172.4 x 5.1 cm (37 x 67 7/8 x 2 in.); Unframed: 90.1 x 168.6 cm (35 1/2 x 66 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund