39. * W Eugene Jansson (Swedish, 1862-1915) Vid dörren (À la porte) signé, inscrit, et daté 'Eugene Jansson/Knut Nyman 20/1907' (en bas à droite) huile sur toile 200 x 90.2cm (78 3/4 x 35 1/2in). signed, inscribed and dated (lower right) oil on canvas Provenance With Julian Hartnoll, London. Eugene Jansson was born in 1862 in Stockholm, where he lived most of his life. After his studies at the Swedish Royal Academy, Jansson set up his studio in the south of the city, overlooking lakes Mälaren and Riddarfjärden. Inspired by the environment around him, he painted mainly urban cityscapes, and developed a particular interest for night-time scenes. At the turn of the century, Jansson started to experiment in figurative painting with his first series of male subjects. The naturist movement emerging in Sweden inspired the artist to start painting nudes. Jansson had more of a philosophical approach to the nudity of his models, differing from the over idealised Greek nude and focused more on the crude reality of their bodies. In 1907, Jansson moved to the island of Skeppsholmen, where he painted several volunteer models from the Swedish Navy's bath house. The subjects of his paintings are often dynamic, training with weights, performing aerobics or swimming. These subjects illustrate the beginning of a new era of modern creation, not only for Janssen but for many Swedish artists. With this particular painting, Jansson demonstrates his mastery of physical expression. His favourite model, Knut Nyam, is standing by a door without clothes and without complex. Jansson's signature colour which is seen in the background highlights perfectly the skin tones and brushstrokes. The controversial artist affirms his art and pioneering vision with this work. Tor Hedburg wrote about Jansson's painting in the 1927 Minnesgestalter Stockholm: 'The male form, boldly and supremely, has made its entry into Swedish painting, not as a more or less academic study from models, deprived of real life, in an artificial pose, with neither exertion or repose, surrounded by atmospheric lights, using all the contemporary advantages in colour, model arrangement and gesture; they are products of an utterly creative, original art and at least within Swedish Art I know of nothing to match it.'