Girl with a Cigarette II
1891
Medium
Etching on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 15 × 11.5 cm (5 15/16 × 4 9/16 in.); Plate: 15.9 × 12 cm (6 5/16 × 4 3/4 in.); Sheet: 37.8 × 29.8 cm (14 15/16 × 11 3/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
41608
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Anders Zorn's *Girl with a Cigarette* (1891) is a masterful etching that captures the intimate, everyday allure of a young woman in a moment of quiet rebellion. Created on luxurious ivory wove paper, print exemplifies Zorn's prowess as a leading Swedish artist of the late 19th, renowned for his fluid depictions of light, texture, and human form. At just 15 × 11.5 cm, the image invites close viewing, revealing the subtle play of smoke and shadow on her features. Zorn's etching technique—using acid to incise intricate lines into a metal plate—allowed him to mimic the luminous effects of his oil paintings, a hallmark of his realist style influenced by Impressionism. The modest plate and sheet sizes underscore the print's status as an accessible yet exquisite multiple, bridging fine art and graphic reproduction during an era when etchings gained prestige among collectors. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, this work reflects fin-de-siècle Europe's fascination with modern femininity and leisure. Zorn's nuanced portrayal of the cigarette-smoking girl evokes a sense of liberated informality, making *Girl with a Cigarette II* a captivating window into his innovative printmaking legacy.
About the Artist
Anders Zorn · 1860–1920
Anders Zorn (1860–1920), one of Sweden's most celebrated artists, was born on February 18 in Utmeland near Mora in Dalarna, and raised on his maternal grandparents' farm in the nearby hamlet of Yvraden. Displaying prodigious talent from a young age, he attended school in Mora Strand until age twelve, followed by secondary grammar school in Enköping, where he excelled in drawing people and horses. ...