Figure 1.--Here is another of Carl Larsson's delightful paintings--this one showing a boy of about 11 musing over his homework and sitting at a brightly painted red desk in his home. It is appropriately entitled "Esbjorn Doing his Homework". The period depicted is 1912. (Larsson had dated the painting for us.) The boy is wearing a striped blue and white blouse, quite short knee pants. and long black stockings.

Many boys in the late-19th and early 20th century wore blouses. During the summer or warmer months they were worn without jackets. These blouses were usually worn with knee pants and long stockings. This is commonly seen in the photographic record. The blouses were often white, bit there were many colored blouses as well as patterns, especially stripes. The photographic record of course was black and white. Thus we do not know what colors were involved. Artists like Larsson provide some insights as to the colors involved. Here is another of Carl Larsson's delightful paintings--this one showing a boy of about 11 musing over his homework and sitting at a brightly painted red desk in his home (figure 1). It is appropriately entitled "Esbjorn Doing his Homework". The period depicted is 1912. (Larsson has dated the portrait for us.) The boy is wearing a striped blue and white blouse, quite short knee pants. and long black stockings obviously supported by the Swedish equivalent of a Strapsleibchen. I think he is wearing hightop shoes. One of the most pleasing aspects of Larsson's paintings of Swedish children is the domestic settings. Here we have the charming interior of a boy's room at home with interesting pictures on the wall and a mirror showing the painter. There is also a touch of nature in the red flower on the window sill. The boy seems to be day-dreaming when he should be attending more closely to the work on his desk--or is he thinking about something that he has just read? Larsson liked to portray boys as they really are and not idealized beyond recognition. Notice the objects in the boy's room and a glimpse of the local church spire in the view from the window.

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Created: 8:34 PM 3/26/2009
Last updated: 8:35 PM 3/26/2009