Items Similar to Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore, Skagen, 1892
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9
Paul GrafChildren Bathing by a Rocky Shore, Skagen, 18921892
1892
$21,396.01
£16,043.33
€18,000
CA$29,855.28
A$32,324.58
CHF 17,185.49
MX$389,856.66
NOK 216,117.20
SEK 201,482.78
DKK 137,125.92
About the Item
Paul Graf (1866–1903), Swedish
Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore, 1892
signed Graf and indistinctly dated 1892
oil on canvas mounted on panel
unframed 139 × 175 cm (54.7 × 68.9 in)
framed 154 × 191 cm (60.6 × 75.2 in)
Provenance: Private collection, Gothenburg.
Comparison:
Bathing Boys, Skagen Beach (1892), oil on canvas, 77 × 110 cm.
Sold at Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, 26 November 2013 (auction 845, lot 53) for approx. €11,700 (incl. fees).
Essay:
For Paul Graf, a Swedish artist active in the late 19th century, the summer of 1892 spent at Skagen was especially fruitful. Most likely painted on the sunlit Jutland coast, an ambitious plein air composition capturing a lively group of nude children at play in shallow water by a rocky shoreline. Graf had studied at the Royal Academy in Stockholm and subsequently in Paris with the renowned academic painter Léon Bonnat (a mentor to several Nordic artists, including Laurits Tuxen and P. S. Krøyer). In 1891–92 he joined the international artists’ colony at Skagen in Denmark, as confirmed by the Brøndum’s Hotel guestbook, which records Graf’s visits in September 1891 and again in the summer of 1892. Immersed in this vibrant community, he absorbed the ethos of painting en plein air and the fascination with the unique Nordic coastal light that defined the Skagen school.
In Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore, Graf presents a sunlit scene of childhood innocence by the sea. A cluster of young children, entirely nude and unselfconscious, frolic in the calm, shallow water beside a rocky outcrop on the shore. Some stand ankle-deep at the water’s edge while others splash about or perch on warm sunlit rocks. Graf’s brushwork is loose yet assured, deftly capturing the fleeting motion of the figures and the sparkling play of light on the rippling water. The color palette is dominated by the clear blues of sky and sea, offset by the warm flesh tones of the children and the muted earth colors of stone; together with the lively handling of paint, these elements create an impression of radiant warmth, vitality, and immediacy.
Graf’s approach to this subject reflects both the influence of French Impressionism and the naturalist tendencies of his Nordic contemporaries. By the early 1890s, Scandinavian painters were increasingly embracing plein air subjects and depicting everyday life bathed in summer sunlight. Graf’s academic background gave him a solid foundation in draftsmanship, and his exposure to modern French painting encouraged a freer, more spontaneous technique, which he put into practice at Skagen. Notably, Skagen’s leading artist P. S. Krøyer painted his own version of this motif in 1892 – a study entitled En Flok Drenge ude i det solglitrende Vand (“A group of boys out in the glistening water”) – and the similarities between Krøyer’s composition and Graf’s are striking. Both works revel in the dazzling coastal light and depict children absorbed in playful motion, as if caught in a candid snapshot. It is tempting to imagine Graf and Krøyer working at their easels side by side on those bright summer days. Whether or not they did so, Graf’s canvas stands on its own as a testament to the plein air ideals they shared: spontaneity, truthful observation, and a celebration of nature’s radiant beauty.
Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore also belongs to a broader Nordic tradition of art that celebrated summer seaside life and the innocence of childhood at the turn of the century. In both Denmark and Sweden, artists found rich inspiration in coastal scenes, from fishermen at work to families and youngsters at play along the shore. Depictions of bathing children in particular embodied a sense of unspoiled purity and communal joy in nature. Graf’s portrayal of nude village children playing freely in the sea exemplifies this idealized vision of rural life, seemingly untouched by modern society.
At the same time, the painting’s high degree of naturalism (evident in the carefully observed anatomy of the figures and the truthful rendering of light and water) anchors it firmly in the realist and Impressionist currents of the 1880s and ’90s. In Sweden, for instance, painters such as Anders Zorn were likewise acclaimed for their ability to depict figures outdoors with vibrant color and palpable sunlight, reflecting a shared Scandinavian fascination with capturing the atmosphere of leisurely summer days by the water. Graf’s canvas, though less famous than those of some of his peers, is very much a part of this moment in Scandinavian art, bridging academic training and a modern, luminous pictorial style.
After 1892, Graf continued to travel and paint throughout Europe. He exhibited his work internationally, reportedly venturing as far as North Africa and the United States, and developed a diverse oeuvre ranging from sunlit genre scenes to atmospheric cityscapes. One of his later paintings, Månskensnatt, Brügge (“Moonlight Night, Bruges”) of 1901, entered the collection of the Gothenburg Museum of Art, attesting to the regard his art enjoyed in his lifetime. Indeed, works by Graf are held today in major collections such as Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Göteborgs Konstmuseum, and Skagens Museum. Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore thus represents an early high point in the career of an artist who, though relatively obscure today, was an active figure in the Nordic art world at the turn of the twentieth century.
- Creator:Paul Graf (1866 - 1903, Swedish)
- Creation Year:1892
- Dimensions:Height: 60.63 in (154 cm)Width: 75.2 in (191 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:The painting is in good condition for its age. The large canvas has been joined in three places and mounted on a board. The colours are clear and vibrant. A very fine work.
- Gallery Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1445217304042
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
Premium sellers with a 4.7+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 2020
1stDibs seller since 2020
221 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
Associations
International Confederation of Art and Antique Dealers
Associations
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Stockholm, Sweden
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllSummer Day on the West Coast of Sweden by Swedish Impressionist Alfred Wahlberg
Located in Stockholm, SE
Alfred Wahlberg was a distinguished Swedish landscape painter whose career spanned Germany, France, and Sweden. During his early years, he resided in D...
Category
Late 19th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,662 Sale Price
20% Off
Free Shipping
Mother Washing with Children Nearby
Located in Stockholm, SE
This delightful painting by Carl Ewald Lönngren captures a serene moment of rural life in late 19th-century Sweden. The scene shows a mother kneeling by a wash basin, surrounded by h...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
Enfants à la plage (“Children at the Beach”)
Located in Stockholm, SE
Albert Roosenboom was a Belgian genre painter celebrated for his elegant depictions of everyday life in the mid to late 19th century. A pupil of the renowned Constantin Meunier, Roos...
Category
1870s Romantic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Coastal Scene from the Swedish West Coast (1923)
Located in Stockholm, SE
Anton Genberg’s coastal painting captures a tranquil harbor scene along Sweden’s west coast. In this 1923 oil painting, a cluster of weathered boathouses stands by the water’s edge, ...
Category
1920s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lakeside at Gärdsvik, Ljusterö, 1891
Located in Stockholm, SE
In the soft evening light, a lone figure rows a small boat across the calm water, while tall reeds fringe the quiet shoreline in the foreground. Rolling wooded hills embrace the lake...
Category
1890s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Impressionist Lake Motif From Sturehäll, Stockholm, 1892
Located in Stockholm, SE
This painting called Sturehäll by Carl Johansson, crafted in 1892 when the artist was 29 years old, offers a captivating glimpse of Sturehäll, near Sturehov in Norsborg. This piece, ...
Category
1890s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$4,564 Sale Price
20% Off
You May Also Like
Contemporary Impressionist Oil Beach Scene of Children playing at the Seaside
By Rene Jerome Legrand
Located in ludlow, GB
Contemporary Impressionist Oil Painting of a Beach Scene of Children playing at the Seaside.
Children playing with their fishing nets and buckets and spades exploring the rockpools and building sandcastles, what a really wonderful way to spend the day!
"The Green Net" oil on canvas, signed and framed by Rene Jerome...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Nude Bathers, 19th Century School of HENRY SCOTT TUKE (1858-1929)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Nude Bathers, 19th Century
School of HENRY SCOTT TUKE (1858-1929) - signed indistinctly
Large Early 20th century scene of nude swimmers at the beach, oil on canvas, signed indistin...
Category
19th Century Nude Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Modern Impressionist Beach Scene Oil Painting Children playing at the Seaside
Located in ludlow, GB
Contemporary Impressionist Beach Scene Oil Painting of Children playing on the beach at the Seaside.
Large and bright Oil painting on Canvas evoking memories of a bygone era. Childr...
Category
20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Modern Impressionist Oil Painting - Beach Scene with Children playing at the Sea
By Rene Jerome Legrand
Located in ludlow, GB
Modern Impressionist Oil Painting of a beach scene with Children playing in a Rocky Cove. Signed Oil on Canvas on Stretchers and Framed in a bronzed silver modern bespoke frame.
Str...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Coastal Seascape with Children - Scottish Victorian figurative art oil painting
By Joseph Henderson
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely Scottish Impressionist Victorian coastal oil painting is by noted artist Joseph Henderson. Painted circa 1880, the composition is a coastal seascape with three children i...
Category
1880s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
Traditional Contemporary Impressionist Oil painting Children playing at Beach
By Rene Jerome Legrand
Located in ludlow, GB
Large, bright and beautiful Impressionist seaside oil painting with Children playing in Rockpools. Rene layers on the paint and glazes to get an incredible iridescence to this large scale painting that is amongst his absolute finest. This is the last of a small series painted for a commission at Harrods Art Gallery some years back. This is truly captivating and looks totally stunning in any interior, it is framed in a traditional style gold frame.
Rene Jerome Legrand...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
