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Author: Matt_Viinanen, Contributing Editor
| Their romance was initially kept a secret in the understanding that the family would not tolerate Emma's independence. Zorn's artistry was not so much an obstacle as his economical situation that deemed him an inappropriate husband for Emma. Any public announcement was further hindered by Henrietta, Emma's mother, who had discovered their plans and forbade Emma from marrying until Zorn's incomes were more modest and secure.
The family persisted with relentless pressure, and gave Anders an ultimatum: he must be worth at least three thousand kronor (about three-hundred dollars) with a string of commissions waiting in line, guaranteeing a steady future income. The family's insistence was not the only influence on the engagement situation for Zorn himself did not want commitment without financial security. |
| In letters sent between Anders and Emma from 1884, we can see Emma's engagement plans. She had created budgets based on potential incomes, hers being the interest from her father’s fortune. In May, 1881, there was nothing further that could prevent the engagement, scheduled to take place early the following month.
In the middle of July of the same year, Emma, her mother and Anders paid a visit to see Zorn's family in Mora, who were consulted and questioned on anything concerning their engagement. It was part of tradition that the families would now get to know each other amongst the social arrangements of official visits and dinners. On such a dinner at General Consul, Henry Davidson (Emma's uncle), and Zorn got in touch with the English financier, Ernest Cassel, who would become Zorn's great beneficiary and patron of his arts. "Portrait of Ernest Cassel", watercolor, 1886, 38"x55" |  |
| In 1885, the curator of the National Museum in Stockholm contacted Zorn and asked him to finish a painting with a patriotic theme behind it, intended from the outset to be a museum piece. Zorn replied:
"I will paint what I know best, and what I love the most: the fields and the ditches of Mora where I played as a youngster while harvesting was in progress. Grandmother would of course be the main feature of the painting, boiling the potatoes, packing up her sack of supplies for the workers." |
 | The painting was born and christened "Our daily bread", a watercolour on paper, 25" x 41" and today held as one of the museum's more important and valuable works. To see this painting in real life is amazing experience. You are pulled into the painting with the ditch and grandma, the fragrance of grass drifting on a zephyr breeze running through your hair. Even when standing just a few inches away, it is hard to conceive that this was painted in watercolours; there is amazing tonal control, which would later be employed to near perfection in subsequent oil paintings.
"Our daily bread", watercolor,1886, 27"x40", |
| The couple were wed in a civil marriage, but not until October 16, 1885. There was a long time of engagement preceding the wedding, largely due to the issue of economic security and the ability to provide his future wife with a living equivocal with her station in life. Another contribution was Henrietta who had pleaded with Emma to "wait"... she was worried about their differing backgrounds that may lead to a marriage burdened by too many compromises. She used to tell Emma that Zorn was a great artist, and great artists should be allowed total freedom in life. Intrusively she demanded to read the letters Zorn had sent to Emma, who obliged through a sense of loyalty. Anders reacted placidly towards the Lamm family's coercive ways to try to control him and his fiancée, yet never considered the Lamm's as close.
Anders temperament fluctuated like the ebb and tide of an ocean. His temper and self-confidence changed weekly and in letters sent to Emma, we can read how he reproaches himself a superfluous artist, mediocre and on occasions, worthless. He discloses his premonitions of a lousy marriage whose only conclusion would be a sad one. In other letters he calls himself "extremely lucky to be blessed with such marvelous talent" and wrote fairytale-like explanations of love towards Emma, and how they would last happy forever and after. |
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