''Midsummer Dance'' is an 1897 oil on canvas painting by the Swedish artist

Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish painter. He attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. Among Zorn's portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three American ...

. There are three versions of the painting; the most well-known one is exhibited at

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Another version, painted at the same time, is now exhibited at the

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. A third version, commissioned by an American collector in 1903, is in a smaller format (117.5 x 90) and in private ownership. The painting depicts a traditional Swedish

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian mart ...

celebration in the province of

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland Värmland () also known a ...

. In the background to the right there is a

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

with a Swedish flag at the top. The dancers are all wearing folk costumes. In the House with a red gable the first morning light is reflected. The depicted village, Morkarlby outside

Mora Mora may refer to: People * Mora (surname) Places Sweden * Mora, Säter, Sweden * Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality * Mora Municipality, Sweden United States * Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Mora, Minnesota, a city * M ...

, is not far from Zorn's own birthplace. After living abroad for several years, Zorn and his wife Emma moved back to Dalarna in 1896. In the following years he made great efforts to preserve the local folk music. The traditional Midsummer celebration had diminished in the Dalarna because of the religious revival that has emerged since the mid-19th century. To counteract this, Zorn annually donated a Maypole to Morkarlby. In his autobiographical notes, Zorn writes about how the idea for the painting was born: "This work was painted in June and part of July after sunset and I am pleased to have done it. I had just given Morkarlby a new maypole. It was painted red every Midsummer and I realised and still realise that it is my solemn duty to be present and to lead the dressing of said pole. My farmhand, dear Verner, was in charge of raising the maypole on the stroke of midnight on Midsummer night. Once it was up, a reel was played and people danced hand-in-hand around the maypole and the yards in an endless snake of youngsters. Then there was dancing in one of the yards until sunrise. This is what my painting portrays."europeana.eu
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References

{{Anders Zorn Paintings by Anders Zorn 1897 paintings Genre paintings Paintings in the Nationalmuseum Stockholm Paintings in the Pushkin Museum Dance in art