Man Attacked by Several Fish n.d.

Anders Zorn made this red chalk drawing, called 'Man Attacked by Several Fish,' during his lifetime, but we don’t know exactly when. Zorn was a cosmopolitan Swede who trained at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, and achieved international success as a painter, sculptor, and printmaker, becoming something of a celebrity in his own time. This drawing is a sketch, a quick study of a subject, perhaps a political cartoon. The scene might reference period anxieties around class conflict and social unrest; here, we have a well-dressed man under attack by devilish fish. It’s hard to know for sure. The drawing seems to demand an interpretation, but without any further information about its creation, or social context, it remains enigmatic. Historical sources, like letters, diaries, newspaper clippings, and exhibition reviews, can help us better understand the cultural and political significance of artworks like this.