Anders Zorn

Anders Zorn could paint water, skin and reflected light with a speed that still looks improbable. He built a large part of his reputation on nudes photographed against Swedish lakes and rivers, though photographed is the wrong word: he painted them outdoors, wet, in cold northern light, and got the tones right.

He was born in Mora to an unmarried mother and a German father he never met, trained in Stockholm, then made his money as a watercolour portraitist before switching to oil. American clients kept him busy. He painted three US presidents and moved easily between Paris salons and Dalarna farmhouses.

The famous Zorn palette, yellow ochre, ivory black, vermilion and white, is still taught, although scholars have shown he used more colours than the story allows. His etchings are the underrated part of the output, built from long parallel lines that describe form with very little fuss.