Carl Larsson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were extremely poor. However, at the age of thirteen, his teacher urged him to seek entry into the Stockholm Academy of Fine Arts. He was accepted, and in 1869, he was promoted to the Antique School of the same academy. There, Carl Larsson became more sure of himself. After several years as illustrator for books, magazines and newspapers, he spent several years in Paris as a hardworking artist, without any real success.
The turning point in Carl Larsson's life came in 1882, when he met Karin Bergöö, who became his wife. Carl Larsson considered his monumental works, such as the frescos in schools, museums and other public buildings, to be his most important work. Larsson's last monumental painting 'Midvinterblot' ('Midwinter Sacrifice') signed in 1915 and intended for the National Museum in Stockholm was refused by the board of the museum. In his memoirs 'Jag', published in 1931, he declared his bitterness and disappointment with this rejection of the painting he himself considered his crowning work as an artist.
Carl Larsson's work, such as 'Das Haus in der Sonne' (1915), was especially given to German soldiers, for its depiction of the ideal family life. His imagery was abused as propaganda for the ideas of "Gesundes Volksempfinden".
'Der Mutter Schelten kränkt Papa,
Er übernimmt das Lehramt da
Indes Mama erzürnt entweichet
Sohnchens Bade sanft er streichet.
Und Kind und Vater still beglückt
Man hier auf diesem Bild erblickt.'