Självporträtt i basker

Bror Hjorth went to Paris in 1921 to be a sculptor. Eventually, painting became a substantial part of his oeuvre. He also continued to draw throughout life.

After nearly ten years in Paris, Bror Hjorth returned to Sweden and eventually settled in Uppsala. In 1949, he was appointed professor of drawing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He was known to advise students to draw so that even the back of whatever they were depicting could be sensed. Volume is a key element in his body of work – art should have weight, he insisted.

In this self-portrait from the late 1930s or early 1940s, Bror Hjorth fixes us with a steady gaze framed by his distinct glasses. His characteristic fringe is covered by a beret, and he is dressed in a shirt and waistcoat with a high neckline. Bror Hjorth had a solid education and mixed with Uppsala’s intellectuals, but in his heart he longed for the primordial and authentic. Accordingly, he liked to present himself as a rugged, uneducated man with his feet planted firmly in rural Uppland.