The Crayfish Season Opens 1897

Curator: Here we have Carl Larsson's "The Crayfish Season Opens," a watercolor painting from 1897. The composition seems split between foregrounded still life and a lively background teeming with people and activities. What’s your immediate reaction? Editor: It's like stumbling upon a secret world! At first glance, it feels light and airy, all summer sunshine. But then your eye is drawn deeper and there's so much bustling—like a painting sprung to life from the pages of a children’s book, infused with the pure joy of midsummer. Curator: Joy is a very astute word for this image. Larsson’s watercolor technique lends itself well to the depiction of light, in this painting we can appreciate how he is able to show the shimmering effect that light produces in water through the light, diaphanous strokes. Editor: I agree, that shimmery water does something... It makes me think about fleeting moments, how childhood is all about living in these bubbles of light and play before the seriousness descends. Curator: The scene evokes genre painting themes—specifically everyday life, elevated to art. The abundance of crawfish, carefully displayed at the front, immediately draws us into the expectation of feasting. The presence of so many children engaged in outdoor pursuits connects the meal and this traditional celebration with renewal, sustenance, community and family unity. We can see those symbols embedded in this painting if we examine details more closely. Editor: Crawfish as symbol! I love it! You know, my eye keeps darting back to that young girl in the foreground with her impossibly big hat and quizzical look...she almost seems to be looking at the future with an uncertain gaze, doesn’t she? A fascinating choice on Larsson’s part. Curator: What strikes me is that while seemingly spontaneous, Larsson manages to imbue the work with symbols of life, memory, and culture through color, posture, placement. These all convey layers of meaning below its beautiful surface. Editor: Definitely something worth savoring, this painting. It almost makes me feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and I'm craving a midsummer feast of my own now. Curator: Indeed! "The Crayfish Season Opens" is more than just an outdoor scene. It serves as an entry into an important festivity imbued with life, love, tradition, memory, and culture. It is indeed an important symbolic tableau of turn of the century Swedish society.