Pierre Louis Alexandre
1879 - 1880
Artist, Swedish, 1859 - 1928
Having escaped a French colony in Latin America, Pierre Alexandre fled to Sweden. He worked in the harbors and, when the docks froze over in the winter, modeled at the art academy. Alexandre may have been the only Black person many of the art students knew. They often used costumes and props to cast him in exotic poses.
But in this portrait, young Karin Bergöö, one of the few women students at the academy, captures Alexandre’s individuality. Because he is close to the picture plane, he feels physically present, even if his far-off gaze suggests his mind is elsewhere.
West Building Main Floor, Gallery 81
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas, mounted on board
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Credit Line
Gift of Funds from Laura and John Arnold, Virginia Cretella Mars, and Maria Elena Weissman
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Dimensions
overall: 92.2 × 73.5 cm (36 5/16 × 28 15/16 in.)
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Accession
2024.6.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
The artist; her parents, Adolf [1828-1890] and Hilda Sahlqvist [1837-1862] Bergöö, Hallsberg, Sweden; their son Per Bergöö [1864-1919], Kumla, Sweden; his son, Per Adolf Bergöö [1898-1984], Hallsberg, Sweden; Einar Werner [1899-1972], Stockholm; his son Mats Werner Mariefred, Sweden;[1] purchased through (Ben Elwes Fine Art, London) 2024 by NGA.
[1] According to Mats Werner, his father Einar was the Bergöö family lawyer and received the painting as payment in the 1920s. (See https://matswerner.blogg.se/2023/april/pierre-louis-alexandre-who-was-he-2.html, accessed 8 July 2024.)
Associated Names
Bibliography
2012
Henriksson, Cecilia Sylvan and Patrick Gibson. Svart i Sverige. Stockholm, 2012: 49, repro.
2017
Miller, Monica L. "Figuring Blackness in a Place without Race: Sweden, Recently." ELH 84, no. 2 (Summer 2017): 381.
2021
Werner, Mats. Svarte Peder/Negern Petterson: från Cayenne till Nationalmuseum. Stockholm, 2021: 6, repro., 54, 86-87, repro.
2022
"The Artist's Model: Pierre Louis Alexandre." Athena Art Foundation. April 2022. Online resource, URL https://www.athenaartfoundation.org/pierre-louis-alexandre. Accessed 7 July 2024.
2023
Werner, Mats. "Pierre Louis Alexandre." Athena Art Foundation. April 2023. Online resource, URL:
https://www.athenaartfoundation.org/pierre-louis-alexandre-by-mats-werner. Accessed 7 July 2024.
Inscriptions
lower left: Karin Bergöö