Lot 62: Nils Forsberg, Sr. (Swedish, 1842-1934)

The Belly Dancer
signed 'N. Forsberg' (lower right)
oil on canvas
82 1/2 x 48 3/4 in. (209.6 x 123.8 cm.)

Anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 17 March 1995, lot 156.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

THE PROPERTY OF AN AMERICAN COLLECTOR

Forsberg began his artistic career as a student in Helsinki and later moved to Goteborg in 1861 where he enrolled at the technical school. In 1867 he worked his way to Paris where he was accepted by Léon Bonnat as a student. It was a number of years spent drawing, painting and copying from the old masters before he made his debut in the international scene. Finally, in 1872 he submitted a self portrait to the Paris Salon but his first international recognition came at the Exposition Universelle of 1878 with a painting depicting an acrobat's family (now in the Goteborgs Konstmuseum). He spent numerous years meticulously finishing his painting entitled Eines Helden Tod, which won him the gold medal at the Salon of 1888, and it was re-exhibited at the Exhibition Universelle in Paris in 1889. The painting now hangs at the National Museum of Fine Art in Stockholm. Two even larger works followed his success at the Salon, the first entitled Gustav Adolf vor der Schlacht bei Lützen which hangs in the Goteborgs Kunstmuseum and the second entitled Stenbocks Kurier which hangs at the Helsingborg Museum.

The Belly Dancer is a rare piece by Forsberg depicting an Orientalist scene. His mastery of color and form is apparent in his naturalistic execution of the human form and in his great use of the sun light pouring in from the left hand side of the composition. The rich, electric pink and gold embroidery of the dancer's taffeta make an immediate impression on the viewer. The visual effect that Forsberg uses in the present work is similar to that used by Alexandre-Louis Leloir in his magnificent work entitled A Musical Interlude (fig. 1) as well as in Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet's Tambourine Girl (fig. 2). Such glistening and radiant quality of the taffeta is created through an application of bold highlights and strong colors resulting in an extraordinarily spellbinding visual feast for the viewer.

(fig. 1) Alexandre-Louis Leloir, A Musical Interlude, sold at Christie's, New York, 26 October 2005, lot 4.

(fig. 2) Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet, Tambourine Girl, sold at Christie's, London, 15 June 2005, lot 35.