Stockholm university

Dissertation in Art History: Emma Kummerfeldt Quiroa, née Jansson

Dissertation

Date: Monday 30 May 2022

Time: 10.00 – 12.00

Location: The Auditorium, Manne Siegbahn Buildings, Frescativägen 24E, Stockholm University, Campus Frescati

Emma Kummerfeldt Quiroa, née Jansson, defends her doctoral thesis Making in Context: Reconsidering Anders Zorn's Oil Painting Practice.

Opponent: Jørgen Wadum, Professor Emeritus of conservation art, Center for Art Technological Studies and Conservation (CATS), National Gallery of Denmark / Conservation and Restoration, University of Amsterdam.

Chair: Peter Gillgren, Professor of Art History, Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University.

Examination Committee: Johan Cederlund, Associate Professor of Art History, adjunct professor, Uppsala University, Zorn Museum, Mora.
Katarina Macleod, Professor of Art History, School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University.
Marie Tengroth Ulväng, PhD of Economic History, Department of Media Studies, Stockholm University.
Substitute: Catharina Nolin, Professor of Art History, Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University.

Supervisors: Sabrina Norlander Eliasson, Professor of Art History, Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University.
Associate Professor Anna Bortolozzi, Professor of Art History, Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University.

 

About the thesis

Emma Jansson
Emma Jansson.

Anders Zorn is one of the most well-known Swedish artists of the late nineteenth century. Born 1860 in the Dalecarlian town of Mora, the painter’s works were renowned and sought-after during his lifetime, both at home and abroad. Ranging in motif from bathing nudes, cosmopolitan urban life and rural genre scenes towards society portraiture, Zorn’s oeuvre – which is further comprised of a variety of different media such as watercolour, oil painting, etching and sculpture – provides a rich material record that serves to demonstrate the intricacies of his artistic process. This thesis examines the details of Zorn’s materials and techniques, with specific focus on his oil painting practice. Using a range of analytical techniques such as multispectral photography, x-radiography, x-ray spectroscopy and paint sample analysis, the study documents aspects such as the artist’s choice of supports, grounds and colours. In addition, close scrutiny of Zorn’s painting practice, including his approach towards compositional planning, paint layer build up and surface facture, provides a basis for examining his technical relationship with other artists who were active during the fin-de-siècle.

Read more about the thesis in the digital scientific archive

About Emma Jansson