Adolf Gudfast Werner

ADOLF GUDFAST WERNER (Linköping, 1837 - Rome, 1903).
"The Dream," 1873.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated on the back.
Measurements: 54 x 74 cm; 75 x 95 cm (frame).
In this painting the author offers us a scene impregnated with poetry and symbolism. A young shepherd, accompanied by his dog, appears submerged in melancholy next to a fragmented Greek vase, visible sign of the fragility of the classic ideal. On one side, Cupid, with his wings and bow, introduces the love dimension of the story, while the presence of Sappho, the famous poetess, and Euterpe, muse of music, reinforce the lyrical evocation.
Not far from them, the figure of Bacchus emerges, recognizable by the ivy-crowned thyrsus, followed by satyrs and nymphs who bring to the composition an air of festivity and Dionysian sensuality. Werner intertwines mythology and emotion in this scene, constructing an allegory of the lost ideal and the fragility of human dreams.
In this charming painting by Adolf Gudfast (Gotthard) Werner, entitled "The Broken Dream," a young shepherd rests wistfully with his faithful dog in front of a broken vase from Greek antiquity. Cupid, recognizable by his wings and bow, is nearby, accompanied by Sappho, the Greek poetess, and Euterpe, the muse of music. Bacchus, identifiable by his Thyrse and the ivy he holds, also appears in the scene, followed by satyrs and nymphs, evoking a divine Greek world. This work captures the essence of the broken dream through a symbolic composition rich in mythology and emotion.

Adolf Gudfast (Gotthard) Werner (December 4, 1837, Linköping - February 20, 1903, Rome) was a Swedish caricaturist and history painter. Son of the physician Henrik Werner and Ida Werner, born Gradman, he lost his father in 1849, the year in which the family moved to Stockholm, coinciding with the beginning of his artistic studies. Between 1857 and 1861 she studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, where she coincided with Georg von Rosen, who years later would be close to Édouard Manet. During this period he was awarded the Meyerska Medal in 1859. In 1861 he traveled on his own to Antwerp to continue his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and later moved to Paris with his mother, where he was a pupil of Émile Signol. He later toured the south of France and Italy, enriching his palette with the light and colors of the Mediterranean. In 1866 he settled in Seville and, three years later, in Rome, where he devoted himself to the study of High Renaissance decorative art. In 1870 he received a travel grant from Queen Josephine, which allowed him to travel around Europe. Thanks to the mediation of Georg von Rosen, in 1876 he returned to Sweden to make a series of paintings at the Bolinder House in Stockholm. Although his life was marked by constant economic difficulties, he continued to travel: he resided in Florence in 1881 and in Bologna the following year. In 1883 he returned to Sweden to participate in the competition for the mural decoration of the foyer of the National Museum, winning a prize that prompted him to travel to Egypt in 1884. After brief stays in Sweden, he settled permanently in Italy until his death.

Werner was appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1868 and participated in its exhibitions in 1866, 1868 and 1877. He also exhibited at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 and at the Swedish Artists' Association exhibition in Stockholm in 1898. After his death, a memorial exhibition was dedicated to him in 1904. His work focuses mainly on religious motifs and historical painting.