Rare "Symbolist-School" painting, ca 1910, 23 x 20.75" (image size)

"Symbolism" was a school of painting between 1880 and approximately 1910 that believed rendering a motif in recognizable form didn't get to the heart of the matter, so they injected their paintings with symbols from Myth, dreams, religion, psychology, and other forms of the subconscious. Famous Symbolist painters included Paul Gauguin and Gustav Moreau in France, Edvard Munch from Norway (The Scream), Gustav Klimt from Austria (Woman in Gold), P.S. Kroyer from Denmark, and many other artists from England, Russia, Germany, Italy, and elsewhere.

This particular painting with an other worldly figure was done by Eduard Salfoft, a famous Danish portrait painter of important people, which means he had the talent to make her beautiful but chose instead to render her in a mystical form. Likewise for the background. Exactly what it means, and whether it speaks to the viewer is entirely beyond explanation; either it does or it doesn't.

Condition: Good, recently cleaned. Frame: Antique French frame popular between 1875 and 1900; normal wear and tear given its age. 30 x 28" Outside measurements.