Lorentz Svensson Sparrgren
Swedish, 1763-1828
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Lars Lorentz Svensson Sparrgren, born 1763 in Gothenburg, died March 31, 1828 in Stockholm, was a Swedish painter.
In 1780 he became a student at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, where he was tutored by Pehr Hilleström. In 1788 he went to China on an East India Company ship, with the intention of learning glass painting - similar ones with Chinese figure motifs are in the National Museum. After his return, he studied miniature painting and was appointed a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1794. From 1796 he spent a long time in Paris. When he returned in 1803, he was a fully trained artist who successfully competed with Gillberg and Berndes, and it was not long before he was recognized as the best in his field in Sweden. He became a member of the Academy in 1800, a vice professor in 1805 and a full professor in 1810. During his long career, Sparrgren painted a number of contemporary figures. He depicted the features of Charles XIV several times (a portrait in watercolor is in the National Museum) and he is represented at the Gothenburg Art Museum and Norrköping Art Museum, among others.
His paintings are characterized by clear and appealing color, artistic execution and great similarity to the model, which is reinforced by the vivid expression he gives the model. His color flourishes and shines, without being untrue or exaggerated. Towards the end of his life, Sparrgren also executed a number of half-figures and heads after older masters. These latter are quite common in private collections. His influence as a teacher was not very great, although he encouraged several of his students to take up miniature painting. His self-portrait (1800) is in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, another in the National Museum, which owns several miniature portraits painted by Sparrgren. Some of his pictures are engraved by Åkerlund and others.
