This exquisite early 20th-century etching by Swedish artist Axel Wallert (1890-1962) depicts a seated woman playing the mandolin. It’s brimming with style yet captured with sensitivity.

Given the relative level of intimacy, it’s plausible that the subject is Wallert’s first wife Sigrid Roos who was also an artist. He married Sigrid just four years earlier - in 1914.

It’s also interesting to note that in 1884, Anders Zorn produced a fine painting of a young lady playing the mandolin, so perhaps it served as inspiration.

The Nationalmuseum in Stockholm holds another copy of this etching.

Signed/dated in the lower right.

Learn more about Axel Wallert in our directory.

Medium: Etching on paper
Overall size: 12” x 16½” / 30cm x 42cm
Year of creation: 1918
Condition: A few horizontal creases down the left hand side. Frame with some light wear.
Artist’s auction highlight: £31,365 achieved for an oil painting in 1999.