Pierre Louis Alexandre, 1879 - 1880

Karin Bergöö Larsson

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.

Object Data

Medium

oil on canvas, mounted on board

Dimensions

overall: 92.2 × 73.5 cm (36 5/16 × 28 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Funds from Laura and John Arnold, Virginia Cretella Mars, and Maria Elena Weissman

Accession Number

2024.6.1

Artists / Makers

Karin Bergöö Larsson (artist) Swedish, 1859 - 1928

Image Use

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Detail Information

Inscription

lower left: Karin Bergöö

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

Ben Elwes Fine Art
Bergöö Family
Werner, Einar
Werner, Mats

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.

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.