Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Julius Kronberg
The Poor Girl – An Early Genre Scene by Julius Kronberg, 1873

c.1873

$3,815.31
£2,826.57
€3,200
CA$5,226.79
A$5,799.56
CHF 3,037.94
MX$71,118.19
NOK 38,641.49
SEK 36,475.92
DKK 24,341.69
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

This small, tenderly rendered painting— titled The Poor Girl (Den fattiga flickan)—offers a rare glimpse into Julius Kronberg’s early period, when he was still exploring the genre motifs popular among Nordic and continental painters in the mid-19th century. The work depicts a young girl seated on the steps outside a rustic home, counting a few coins with quiet concentration. Her modest clothing, wool-lined jacket, green apron, and pink headscarf, together with the small wooden box and scattered coins, suggest a narrative of economic modesty, if not hardship. Yet there is dignity and softness in her expression, as if Kronberg aimed to portray not mere poverty, but the contemplative humanity of a young person in a fleeting moment of solitude. The panel is modest in scale—only 20.5 x 16 centimeters—and painted with careful, restrained detail. The brushwork is fine but not overly polished, and the subdued lighting gives the scene a quiet, domestic atmosphere. While the palette is earthy, the composition is subtly harmonized: the pale pink of the scarf, the deep red of the bodice, and the soft green apron create a visual balance that enhances the intimacy of the scene. A small triangular box lies open by her feet, further inviting the viewer into a private moment. Painted in the 1870s, this work may have been completed during Kronberg’s time in Düsseldorf, where he studied and absorbed the influence of the Düsseldorf School’s narrative realism. The German city was, at the time, a thriving hub for academic painters who favored sentimental genre scenes and rural subjects. The emotional restraint and anecdotal realism of The Poor Girl align with this tradition, while also pointing to the Nordic interest in moral clarity and social observation. Unlike Kronberg’s later and more monumental works—grand allegorical and mythological scenes filled with classical references—this painting reflects a quieter, more introspective dimension of his practice. It suggests an artist still forming his identity, attentive to the lives of ordinary people and the subtleties of expression in humble settings. oil on canvas signed J.Kronberg unframed: 20.5 x 16 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/4 in) framed: 31 x 26 cm (12 1/4 x 10 1/4 in) original frame: 43 x 38 cm (16 7/8 x 15 in) Possibly exhibited as Den fattiga flickan (1873) at Kronberg’s memorial exhibition at Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, in 1923, catalouge no 15. Condition and frame option: Very good condition with bright, clear colors. Offered with a choice of frames: a newly made gilt frame or the original, which is somewhat oversized for the painting. If we don’t hear otherwise, the smaller frame will be provided.
  • Creator:
    Julius Kronberg (1850 - 1921, Swedish)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1873
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12.21 in (31 cm)Width: 10.24 in (26 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Frame Included
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
    Very good condition with bright, clear colors. Offered with a choice of frames: a newly made gilt frame or the original, which is somewhat oversized for the painting. If we don’t hear otherwise, the smaller frame will be provided.
  • Gallery Location:
    Stockholm, SE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1445216140062

More From This Seller

View All
Julius Kronberg’s Angelica – A Romantic Heroine of Renaissance Legend
Located in Stockholm, SE
Literary Origins of Angelica The subject of this painting is Angelica, a princess from the epic chivalric romances of the Italian Renaissance. She first appears in Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato (1483) and reappears famously in Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1532). In these poems – part of the Matter of France cycle of Charlemagne and his paladins – Angelica’s extraordinary beauty ensnares many knights, including Orlando (Roland) and his cousin Rinaldo, sparking rivalries and adventures. Ariosto’s narrative particularly highlights Angelica’s tumultuous journey: at one point she is stripped and chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster (a scene mirroring the myth of Andromeda) before being dramatically rescued by the valiant knight Ruggiero on his winged horse. Ultimately, however, Angelica chooses her own destiny. She falls in love with a humble Saracen soldier, Medoro, whom she nurses back to health, and she returns with him to her far-off Asian kingdom – an affair that drives the heartbroken Orlando to madness. This independent resolution (marrying outside the circle of Christian knights) made Angelica an emblem of feminine agency and romantic idealism in Renaissance literature. Her story remained popular in art and literature through the centuries, symbolizing the allure and elusiveness of love. Kronberg’s Portrayal and Composition In Julius Kronberg...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

A Young Woman With Her Animals, Original Oil Painting From 1862
Located in Stockholm, SE
This painting by Gustaf Brandelius, a 19th-century Swedish artist, evokes the pastoral tranquility and rural life of the era. Brandelius was not only a painter but also served in the...
Category

19th Century Animal Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Wool Winder (1877) by Swedish Female Artist Emma Ekwall
Located in Stockholm, SE
In The Wool Winder, Emma Ekwall captures a moment of quiet domestic intimacy between a young woman and a man as they wind wool together—she with focused care, he with gentle attentiv...
Category

1870s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Young Girl Watering Flowers – Intimate 19th Century Genre Scene
Located in Stockholm, SE
This tender scene by German artist Georg Buchner captures a quiet, intimate moment: a young girl carefully watering a potted plant on a windowsill. The warm light gently illuminates ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of a Girl, 1887 by Danish Realist Painter Peder Mørk Mønsted
By Peder Mørk Mønsted
Located in Stockholm, SE
This painting titled "Portrait of a Girl" by the Danish realist painter Peder Mørk Mønsted captures an enigmatic young woman whose identity remains unknown. The girl, elegantly posed...
Category

1880s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

The Daily Tasks of Rural Life, c. 1860, Romanticism Oil Painting.
Located in Stockholm, SE
This serene landscape painting is by James Howe Carse, a Scottish-Australian artist whose lineage and mentorship are deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of his time. Carse's wor...
Category

Mid-19th Century Romantic Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

"Genre Scene of Children"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Johann Ferdinand J. Hintze (1849–1877) – Genre Scene of Children Artist: Johann Ferdinand J. Hintze Period: 19th Century (Dated 1874) Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: Framed: 42 x 3...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, ABS

Jeune paysanne tricotant auprès de l’âtre
By Jules Breton
Located in Barbizon, FR
Oil on canvas. 56x46.5 cm.Signed lower right, dated 1860 Provenance : - Gift of the artist to Monsieur Allou in March 1861- Sale by Allou and Ehrlier in February 1872 (Galerie George...
Category

19th Century Barbizon School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th Century genre oil painting of a young woman knitting beside a girl
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
John William Haynes British, (1831-1924) Knitting Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 29.5 inches x 24.5 inches Size including frame: 35 inches x 3...
Category

19th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

‘Meal Time for all’ by Hermann Werner (1816 – 1905), signed and dated 1870
By Hermann Werner
Located in Knokke, BE
Hermann Werner Samswegen 1816 – 1905 Düsseldorf German Painter ‘Meal Time for all’ Signature: signed lower right and dated ‘H. Werner. 1870
' Medium: oil on canvas
 Dimensions: ima...
Category

Late 19th Century Romantic Interior Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Painting, 19th century, oil on canvas, "Young woman at the well"
Located in Berlin, DE
Painting, 19th century, oil on canvas, "Young woman at the well" Signed, B. Kern. Dimensions with frame 61cm x 75cm
Category

19th Century Romantic Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Swiss academic painter 19th VAUTIER Interior Oil on canvas The spinner woman
Located in PARIS, FR
Benjamin VAUTIER (Attributed to) Morges (Switzerland), 1829 – Dusseldörf, 1898 Oil on canvas 43 x 37 cm (58 x 52 cm with the frame) Beautiful 19th century frame in carved and gilded ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Interior Paintings

Materials

Oil