Who painted A Toast II?

A Toast II was painted by Anders Zorn in 1893.

Where can I see A Toast II?

A Toast II is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is A Toast II?

A Toast II is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

A Toast II

Anders Zorn , 1893

A Toast II is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Anders Zorn. It dates from 1893 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Anders Zorn’s 1893 print A Toast II is an etching executed on laid paper. The work belongs to the print medium and presents a single‑figure composition rendered in monochrome. It captures a brief, informal moment, emphasizing gesture and expression through the stark contrast of line and tone.

Subject & Meaning

The image depicts a bearded man in a dark coat, his profile turned slightly away as he holds a glass in one hand and a folded napkin or paper in the other. The sharply drawn facial lines around the eyes and mouth convey a fleeting, perhaps contemplative, gesture, suggesting a private toast or quiet pause.

Technique & Style

Zorn employs drypoint alongside traditional etching, allowing lines to accumulate and produce deep shadows and textured surfaces. The rough, burr‑laden edges of the drypoint strokes give the figure a tactile presence, while the background is rendered with rapid, criss‑crossed marks that dissolve the setting into suggestion rather than detail.

History & Provenance

Created in 1893, A Toast II belongs to a period when Zorn explored printmaking alongside his celebrated oil paintings. The work has been held in several private collections before entering public holdings, reflecting the artist’s interest in disseminating his studies of everyday scenes through reproducible media.

Context

During the late nineteenth century, European artists increasingly turned to print techniques to capture spontaneous moments and social scenes. Zorn’s choice of a simple, domestic subject aligns with this trend, while his mastery of drypoint demonstrates his technical versatility beyond his more famous portraiture.

Artist & collection

Artist

Anders Zorn

Anders Leonard Zorn was born in February 1860 in Mora, Dalarna, the illegitimate son of a Bavarian brewer and a Swedish farmer's daughter; his mother died shortly after his birth, and his grandparents raised him.