Brood of Ducklings among Yellow Water Lilies

Brood of Ducklings among Yellow Water Lilies

1917

Oil on canvas

Mått 90,00 x 165,50 cm Ram 121,00 x 195,50 x 7,00 cm

GKM 2013-80

Bequest of Gustaf Werner (1859–1948) to the City of Gothenburg. Transferred to the Gothenburg Museum of Art in 2013.

Bruno Liljefors is considered one of Sweden’s most prominent wildlife painters of all time. His greatness lay in his ability to credibly depict animals in their natural habitats and at the same time dramatise their struggle for survival. His images often gave expression to sublime nature experiences. Sometimes, however, as here, it was a toned-down sublime. Liljefors liked to move close to his motif. The duck family is swimming among the lily pads on the water, which reflects the violet sky. The painting brings to mind Claude Monet’s depiction of the water lilies of Giverny. As with Monet, there is a freshness in the brushwork, but while Monet homes in on the reflections, for Liljefors they rather form the backdrop to the animals’ life. This is a relatively late work by the artist. The painting is remarkably modern and sketch-like. But Liljefors was no modernist. He was more interested in studying nature than deconstructing it. Nevertheless, Brood of Ducklings among Yellow Water Lilies is a colourful depiction of the ducklings’ eagerness to explore the big wide world, still however, on the coat tails of their mother.

Göteborg, Göteborgs konstmuseum, 07/09/2013 - 17/11/2013