Carl Georg Arsenius

Carl Georg Arsenius (Swedish, 1855–1908). 

A late 19th-century study of an Apple Head Chihuahua shown seated on a Beaux-Arts style, coral-velvet upholstered sofa and gazing intently towards the viewer. A rare and early study of the beloved breed by this noted Swedish animalier and figurative painter.

After studying at the Royal Art Academy on Stockholm (1870–80), Carl Arsenius moved to Paris where he continued his studies at the Académie Julian with Jean-Paul Laurens. He subsequently moved to Chantilly, in France, where he lived and painted for the remainder of his life.

Over the course of a long career, Arsenius exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. A renowned animal painter, he was much patronized by the aristocracy, including King Oscar II of Sweden for whom he painted many equestrian portraits. Carl Arsenius is well-listed in all relevant art reference works including Benezit and Thieme-Becker. His work may be found in prestigious private and public collections, including those of the Art Museum of Gothenburg and the National Museum in Stockholm.

Signed lower right recto

E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 1, p. 477.

Thieme-Becker Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gengenwart, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 1/2, p. 157.

Schurr, Les Petits Maitres de la Peinture Valeur de Demain.