August Hagborg - Bathing Women by the Shore
Regular price €7.900August Hagborg (1852-1921) Sweden
Bathing Women by the Shore
oil on canvas
signed HAGBORG
unframed: 73 x 100 cm (28 3/4 x 39 3/8 in)
framed: 88 x 115 cm (34 5/8 x 45 1/4 in)
Essay:
This luminous and finely executed painting by August Hagborg captures three nude women preparing to bathe at the edge of a still, tree-lined body of water. One figure is seated on a rock in the foreground, calmly observing the water; another adjusts her hair or headscarf, while the third gently wades into the lake. The atmosphere is tranquil and intimate, imbued with a soft light that reflects Hagborg’s masterful handling of tone and texture.
The setting is ambiguous—it could just as well be a Nordic lake as a quiet French inlet. This uncertainty aligns with Hagborg’s career, which bridged both Swedish and French artistic circles. He spent most of his professional life in France but frequently returned to Sweden during the summers. Many of his works were inspired by the coasts of Normandy, Brittany, and southern Sweden.
This painting may correspond to a work exhibited posthumously at the 1926 memorial exhibition at the Swedish-French Art Gallery, where a canvas titled Bretagneflickor vid stranden ("Breton Girls by the Shore", cat. no. 11) was shown. The present composition matches that title in mood and motif, though no firm identification has yet been made.
August Hagborg studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and settled in Paris in the 1870s. He became a celebrated painter of coastal scenes and genre subjects, frequently exhibiting at the Paris Salon. His breakthrough came in 1879 with Low Tide at the English Channel, a painting awarded a third-class medal and later acquired by the Musée du Luxembourg (now in the Musée d'Orsay). Hagborg’s work is today held in major collections including the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
Provenance:
Sold on behalf of a private collector based in Stockholm.
Condition report:
The painting has recently undergone professional restoration by a conservator. The surface has been carefully cleaned, revealing the original clarity and vibrancy of the colors. The work is in excellent condition. It is presented in a custom-made frame by Hultbergs Ramar in Stockholm, which is included.
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