Self-portrait in a wolfskin 1915

Anders Zorn made this oil painting, Self-portrait in a wolfskin, which now hangs in the Zorn Collections in Mora, Sweden. I love the looseness of his brushstrokes, and the way he’s clearly having fun with the paint – it’s almost like he’s wrestling with it. The texture here is key. Look at how he renders the fur, not with meticulous detail, but with these quick, gestural strokes that capture the essence of its fluffiness. And the color! It’s not just white, it’s a whole symphony of creams, grays, and yellows, all dancing together to create this luxurious, almost palpable surface. The paint looks thin in places, like around the face and hat, but thicker in the fur. The way the paint is applied gives the fur its volume and depth. He’s using the materiality of the paint to suggest the physical properties of the fur itself. Looking at this, I'm reminded of John Singer Sargent’s portraits, particularly in the bravura brushwork and the confident swagger of the subject, but here, Zorn seems to be aiming for something more intimate and perhaps more honest. I feel that Zorn invites us to revel in the messy, imperfect beauty of life.