Anders Zorn (1860–1920) was the most prominent Swedish painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Coming from a humble rural background, he achieved international fame as a portraitist of kings, politicians, and other celebrities of his time. His virtuoso mastery of some of the main artistic techniques (oil, watercolor, engraving) established him as one of the most prestigious creators in Europe and the United States.

This companion catalogue to the eponymous exhibition presents an interesting and comprehensive overview of his work: from his early watercolors and formative travels to his subsequent establishment in Paris — where he was one of the leading figures in the triumph of naturalist painting — to his return to Sweden in 1896 and his travels to the United States. The breadth and richness of his career, cosmopolitan yet deeply rooted in his origins, is reflected in paintings in which depictions of modern life and portraits of personalities from many countries coexist with scenes of traditional life in his native region. The exhibition also includes his Spanish subjects, with pieces from Seville, Cadiz, and Granada, as well as other works that bear witness to his friendship with Joaquín Sorolla and Ramón Casas.

Markus Bertsch, who holds a PhD in Art History from the Friedrich Schiller University de Jena, directed the Mittelrhein-Museum in Koblenz. He is currently is currently chief curator of 19th-Century Art at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

Casilda Ybarra Satrústegui earned a master’s degree in Museum Studies from the New York University and had additional training at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Morgan Library & Museum or the MoMA. She is curator of Fine Arts at Fundación Mapfre.