Christmas Painting Thursday

Today's daily (until Christmas day) painting is an especially touching one and a favorite of mine. A smiling child dressed in Christmas red, the daughter - I believe - of Swedish painter Carl Larsson (1853 - 1919), she personifies the joy of the season. Her name is Brita and she's happily holding some candles and a basket of those little apples whose name I forget.

For more on Carl Larsson and his work, please check this link.

Saturday Salon: A Favorite Painting

Carl Larsson (1853 - 1919) was a Swedish painter known primarily for his charming paintings of family and interiors. Often using his own children as models, Larsson's beautifully realized watercolors evoke the quiet spirit of family life amid colorful surroundings. His work has made familiar the warm, bright 'look' of Swedish interior style. You can still visit Larsson's family home today in Sundborn, Sweden. Read more about Carl Larsson here.

This is a wonderful book I own and can recommend if you'd like to see more of Carl Larsson's work and read more about his life and times. The Larsson website is a great source of info about currently available books and prints.

A Carl Larsson Christmas!

Carl Larsson (1853 - 1919) is a revered Swedish artist whose exuberant family and Christmas images we've come to know and love. My only excuse for posting these paintings today is that they are so beautiful and emblematic of the season, I just wanted to share them with you. I own this book and it is truly a joyous exploration of a painter who celebrated family with, in my view, a particularly Swedish use of brilliant color and design.