Mats Werner

Pierre Louis Alexandre : the most depicted black person in pre-modern art" Mats Werner

Poor Pedro stomp on the quay freeze cold Pedro come home woman hang body in wood pile.

This curious rhyme has aroused the curiosity of generations of Stockholmers. But where did it come from? Was there an actual event like the one described in the rhyme?

Yes, there was. Author Mats Werner has spent years researching this rhyme and the story behind it in order to find out who poor Pedro was. Artist Karin Bergöö (later married to painter Carl Larsson) painted an image of Pedro, who became known as Negro Petterson, and Bergöös painting hung in Mats Werners childhood home, which is what incited his interest in the models story.

Pierre Louis Alexandre, as it turned out he was actually named, was born and raised in Cayenne in French Guiana as the child of a slave woman. He ended up in cold Sweden in the 1870s, and began working as a model for the students at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. Anders Zorn, Albert Engström, John Bauer, Oscar Björk, and other wellregarded
artists are among those who depicted him.

But who was he and how did he support himself otherwise? Where did he live? Where did he come from and why was he in Sweden? Did he have a spouse and children? When and how did he die?

In this book, you can read Mats Werners research into Alexandres life, and get answers to all those questions. In addition, you can see all the currently known artworks that depict him.

Alexandre had a fascinating life and was the inspiration for many beautiful paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Here, Mats Werners detective work is carefully laid out so that the Black model can take centre stage.