From what I gather, based on the superficial amount I know about his life, art was an escape for Carl Larsson. A private escape from the hardships of his early life, and eventually a means to leave them behind.
So it makes sense that a lot of his work projects a peaceful domesticity. This isn't the easiest subject to make compelling, but he finds a way. In this painting, "Hide and Seek", it's an unusual angle. The girl hasn't found a good hiding place in most senses. That table is wide open. But it's not the first place you'd look, so the game can go on for a few minutes. Of course the high vantage point also allows for the display of the round vase and its shadow.
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Inger introduced me to Carl Larsson's paintings many years ago. His idyllic watercolors depicting family life in 19th century Sweden are both beautiful and tender examples of family life. Nostalgic as they were even then they show just how much was being lost as machine made items and art were being produced. It's easy to see just how much of Larsson's and his wife's home was hand made.
I love the luminous quality of his paintings. His children were always a focal point in his life and this one appears to show the child and the room from a tall person's point of view. You're right the shadows are exquisitely depicted.
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