Brita as Iduna (Iðunn), lithography, title page for the christmas edition of Idun, 1901 1901

Carl Larsson made this lithograph, "Brita as Iduna", in 1901 as the title page for a Christmas edition of *Idun*. It's mostly red, and you can imagine him carefully painting and layering the color to make the figure of the girl stand out. I think he’s trying to tell us something about youthfulness and life in the winter. Maybe he’s thinking about an old Norse myth? This Iduna character looks so cute! I can see him working on the little details, the apples, the fur boots, and the heart on her chest. It looks like he is thinking about domesticity and the specialness of childhood. Larsson was mostly a painter of watercolors and is known for his idyllic images of Swedish family life. I can see him sitting at his desk and making a drawing of his child, Brita, but then having to imagine how it would look printed. Anyway, this is a beautiful, intimate image which is part of an ongoing conversation about family, love, and the life of women.