Socialists

Christian Krohg was Norway's foremost realist painter and a committed social observer whose subjects ranged from street prostitutes to fishermen and workers at the margins of Norwegian society. 'Socialists' (1888) reflects his engagement with the emergent labor movement and socialist politics of the 1880s — a period of rapid industrialization in Norway when class conflict and political organization were reshaping the country's social fabric. Krohg's willingness to paint political subjects sympathetically was characteristic of his commitment to art as a socially relevant practice. He was also a writer and editor who used both artistic and journalistic means to address social injustice.

Krohg renders his socialist subjects with the direct, unflinching observation that characterized his entire practice — these are specific people in specific circumstances, not idealized or caricatured representatives of a political position. His handling is painterly and confident, the figures placed within settings that communicate their social context. His Naturalist technique prioritizes observed truth over political messaging.