Åt Solsidan

Åt Solsidan (Toward the Sunny Side) of c. 1886 belongs to the period when Carl Larsson was developing the distinctive style and subject matter that would define his career. By the mid-1880s he had already established his characteristic approach to depicting family life, domestic interiors, and the Swedish landscape. Åt Solsidan — literally 'toward the sunny side' — reflects the fundamental optimism and celebration of light that characterizes his entire oeuvre. Painted around the time he was beginning the systematic decoration of the Sundborn house with his wife Karin, this work in oil on canvas differs from his more celebrated watercolors but shows the same preoccupations. The Nationalmuseum's holding of this early work testifies to the institution's comprehensive collection of Larsson's development. The phrase 'sunny side' carries both literal and philosophical meaning in Larsson's world — a conscious choice to celebrate the bright, joyful aspects of domestic and natural life.

In oil, Larsson's style is related to but distinct from his watercolor technique. The painting likely shows a figure in an outdoor setting, capturing the particular quality of Swedish summer sunlight he recorded throughout his career.