Commissions
Urban Larsson is widely seen as one of the foremost portrait painters in northern Europe. His portraits are distuingished by strong characterization, sense of life and depth. For the last thirty years he has pursued his passion of painting portrait commissions and they are numerous and prestigious (a selection can be seen below).
Through his working methods Larsson is directly linked to the great portrait painters of the past. As a contemporary painter working sight-size, whereby the canvas and sitter are placed side by side and viewed at a distance to perceive the whole, his portraits are painted life-size or to the scale of life. He prepares his materials and paint using the time-tested techniques of previous centuries.
Portraits are done from life through sittings and not from photographs. His dedication to working from life stems from the conviction that in order to paint a portrait with a sense of life you need to have the person in front of you; when working from a photograph, you are imitating an imitation which is not reality itself. Each sitting lasts about 2-3 hours (with several breaks) and a portrait requires 6-10 sittings depending on size. The price for a portrait in charcoal starts at €3,000 and for a life-size portrait commission in oil at €12,000.
For more details and information on prices, please contact Urban Larsson.
In the two-part documentary ‘Urban Larsson’ broadcasted on the Dutch national television network AVROTROS Kunstuur we follow Urban Larsson at different points throughout 2016 and 2017 in Amsterdam, Florence, Stockholm and The Hague. In Florence, for example, we are given an insight into Charles H. Cecil Studios where Larsson regularly teaches life-size portraiture to the advanced students.
© Photo Anne Nyblaeus
selection of past commissions
1993 Former Italian Ambassador to the Netherlands, the Hon. Count A. Pietromarchi, private collection, Italy
1996 The President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Professor Dr. P. J. D. Drenth, KNAW, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1998 Bischop Mgr T.J. Horstman, Oud-Katholike Kerk, Haarlem, the Netherlands
1999 Former Mayor of Wassenaar, Dr. P. H. Schoute, De Paauw, Wassenaar, the Netherlands
2002 Willem F. C. Stevens, Baker & McKenzie, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2002 The official portrait of the former Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok, MINAZ, The Hague, the Netherlands
2012 The President of the House of Representatives of the States General, the Netherlands, Mrs G. Verbeet, Tweede Kamer der Staten-General, The Hague, the Netherlands
2012 Rudi Ekkart, Former Director of RKD (Dutch Institute for Art History), RKD, the Netherlands
2013 Ambassador Matthew W. Barzun, former Ambassador of the United States to the United Kingdom, private collection, USA
2013 Hein van der Heijden, actor, Collectie Stichting Oeuvre Jan van der vossen, the Netherlands
2013 Hans Croiset, actor, director, and writer, Stadsschouwburg Theatre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2013 HM Queen Silvia of Sweden, Swedish National Portrait Collection, Gripsholm Castle, Sweden
2016 King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Sociëteit de Witte, The Hague, the Netherlands
2017 Jan Six (XI), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2018 President of the Swedish Supreme Court, Marianne Lundius, Swedish Supreme Court, Stockholm, Sweden
2019 Dr. Ben Bot, former Ambassador, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, etc., Peace Palace, The Hague, the Netherlands