This charming early 19th-century Swedish oil painting depicts a blissful rural idyll with fishermen and cottages.

Under the glow of mid-Summer, two figures dangle lines into a calm river, which winds past thatched cottages. While a mother and child wander along a sunlit track towards the bough of a leaning tree. The sky is abundant with buoyant clouds.

During the late 18th and early 19th century, landscape painting in Sweden wasn’t a particularly lucrative affair with patrons preferring portraiture or works with historical references. However, artists such as Johan Philip Korn (1727-1796), opted for nature rather than the grandiosity of other endeavours - presumably compelled by a love for the natural world. Alongside his tranquil renderings in oil, he also worked as a decorative painter, applying his ample skill to furniture and interiors.

It’s interesting to note the comparisons here with 17th-century Dutch landscapes, which were an inspiration for numerous European artists during this period.

Held within a splendid gilt frame with foliate corner ornamentation.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 20½” x 16½” / 52cm x 42cm
Year of creation: c. 1820
Condition: Artwork presents well. Fine craquelure but the paint is stable. Frame with some light wear.