Lot 1012: Richard Hall (b. 1857 Finland, d. 1942 Buenos

Richard Hall (b. 1857 Finland, d. 1942 Buenos Aries), "Gustavus Vasa and His Wife and Son Before King Hans", 1881, oil on canvas, unsigned, titled and dated in ink on stretcher bar en verso, 22 3/8 in. x 36 1/2 in., in a carved and painted wood frame. Note: This evocative painting represents a significant moment in history, for its tender scene of presentation depicts a crucial episode in the rustic retirement of King Hans II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Gustavus Vasa, the black-clad father at left, was destined to succeed King Hans and his ill-fated son Christian II, after Gustavus had expelled the Danes from Sweden in 1523, and he had embarked on an almost 40-year reign (1523-1560). He in turn was succeeded on the throne of Sweden by three of his sons, of whom the most successful was Hans (John) III, perhaps the child in this painting. Thus the gesture of the elder King Hans, in recognizing and blessing his namesake and eventual successor, is more than pictorially meaningful. The lack of emblems of state, in the image, is probably explained by the fact that King Hans lived for a dozen years in retirement after his deposition as monarch; indeed, that extra longevity is essential to the painter's conceit that these three leaders might have met. The standing figure of the mother probably represents Queen Margaret Lejonhufvud, Gustavus's second wife, who bore him ten children, of whom a daughter and three sons survived (including young Hans, and Charles IX, father of the famous Gustavus Adolfus, King of Sweden 1611-1632). Richard Hall studied in Stockholm in 1875-1881, and he was resident there in 1885-1887; he was a member of the Academy of Art, and the inscription on the verso of this picture claims it was exhibited there in 1881 He eventually went on to London, New York, and finally Argentina; biographical clippings in various Scandinavian languages are also affixed to the reverse of the canvas and stretcher.