Painting school. Study

Painting school. Study

före 1918

Oil on canvas

Mått 46,00 x 43,00 cm

GKM 0618

Gift of the artist, 1918

We are inside a dimly lit studio with subdued, earthy tones on the walls and floor. A white sculpture occupies the left side of the image. On the right, a person dressed in a light painter’s frock stands with their hand raised—perhaps preparing to draw the sculpture. An easel with a stretched canvas stands beside them. Further back, two additional figures are at work: one with their back turned, wearing a dark dress and blonde hair in an updo, concentrating as they sketch the model posed on a low platform. Women’s participation in art academies was still relatively new, and they were sometimes prohibited from drawing nude models. At the time, it was believed that women were too emotionally delicate to view naked bodies—an idea that feels distant today. Charlotte Mannheimer grew up in London and studied at the South Kensington Art School. At 18, she moved with her family to Copenhagen, where she continued her artistic training. Marriage later brought her to Gothenburg. Mannheimer was not only an artist but also a patron, supporting emerging artists and avant-garde movements at her gallery “New Art.” She played an important public role in the city’s cultural life and maintained a broad international network of artistic contacts.

Axel L. Romdahl, Göteborgs konstmuseum. Tvåhundra bilder med inledande text av Axel L. Romdahl, Medéns bokhandels aktiebolag, Göteborg 1925., ill. p. 197