Two years after the exhibition “Summer Adventure”, which featured highlights from the old National Gallery, Blaafarveværket now invites you to a similar exhibition. This time, works from the National Museum in Stockholm are presented. The main focus is on Swedish 19th-century paintings, supplemented by a small selection of Danish and Norwegian pictures. I looked forward to it as a child, because I know far too little about Swedish art history, and looked forward to getting to know big names from this phase. IS IT POSSIBLE? I can’t believe it when I meet Bruno Liljefors’ sugary animal kitch! Is this really considered among the best? When I go in and study other pictures in the National Museum’s archive, I see that especially in his pre-studies, sketches and earlier pictures that he is a great draftsman. But the paintings on display at Blaafareværket are downright terrifying, and reinforce the feeling I have that the truly God-given painters are missing here. Bruno Liljefors: “Rävfamilj”, 1886. Photo: Blaafarveværket Where are the great, individualized painters? Unfortunately, the experience was a disappointment. As I wandered through the exhibition, I was filled with wonder: The Swedish paintings presented appeared to me to be surprisingly generic and regular in their expression. NOT HOME TRACK: Why can’t August Strindberg be a poet and Carl Larsson an illustrator? They are brilliant in their respective fields, but as painters they can hardly represent the cream of Swedish art history, can they? August Strindberg: “Staden”, 1903.Carl Larsson: “Study figure for Rococo”, 1888. Many of them show technical skill, but the really great painters shine by their absence. “This is Sweden’s answer to Harriet Backer,” said our friendly host, pointing to an interior by an Oscar Björk. No way, I thought after taking in the painting. CAN’T MEASURE ITSELF WITH HARRIET: The painting lacks unity and coherence. For example, I am not convinced by that back wall. Here it looks as if the window is hanging in thin air. Notice how the glasses on the woman’s nose are designed in a completely different style to the rest of the picture. In my eyes, Oscar Björck cannot reach Harriet Backer’s knees. Oscar Björck, “In the town school”, Skagen (1884). Photo: Blaafarveværket I had to ask myself the question: Is simply the second part of the 19th century, which is the golden age of Norwegian art history, not just as important in the Swedish one? We already know that they don’t have any Edvard Munch, but don’t they have anyone who can reach either Christian Krohg, Harriet Backer, Kitty Kielland, Eilif Peterssen or Harald Sohlberg to their knees? Based on the exhibition, it actually doesn’t look that way. Or is the explanation perhaps that the Swedish National Museum has eaten up the Blaafarveværket with a small representative selection? Norwegian painters on the offensive? In 2008, they showed a compilation of two romantic artist duos. It was Norwegians Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude who were pitted against the two Swedish painters Kilian Zoll and Marcus Larsson. In that exhibition, it became quite obvious that the politically inferior Norway was actually on an artistic offensive against the Swedes. Now, fifteen years later, I am tempted to think that this applies not only to Romanticism, but perhaps to the 19th century as a whole. UNORIGINAL: I think this is really formulaic gloss picture kitch. Here we see how Hugo Salmson charges his pictures with the same pre-chewed emotional content in both of these pictures. Hugo Salmson: “Blomsterplockerskan”, 1882. DUSINVARE: The fact that he also uses the exact same model and pose to depict several situations emphasizes the formulaic nature. Hugo Salmson: “The purple axplockerskan”, 1884. Anders Zorn However, I immediately started looking for big, well-known names. Where was Prince Eugen, for example? A painter with an undoubted originality and strength of expression, although perhaps I would still not place him on the same level as the aforementioned Norwegians. Prince Eugen is left out for unclear reasons. On the other hand, fortunately, Anders Zorn has included one size: An artist of undoubted format. He was particularly brilliant as a portrait painter. In his portrait of the actor Coquelin Cadet from 1889, we see his distinct compositional ability, his sense of rhythm and his restrained colouring. BRILLIANT: This picture reminds us that Zorn is a painter to be reckoned with anyway. Anders Zorn: “Portrait of the actor Coquelin Cadet”, 1889. Here we see how Zorn organizes the pictorial space with great confidence. He also creates a nice atmosphere with his dramatic use of lighting. Anders Zorn – “A musical family”, 1905. His early pictures held great promise, but unfortunately he developed over the years into something more flat and salon pornographic. It seems that his technical skill fell into something a little too polished, and almost advertising or glossy image-like, where the expression became more perfectionist than actually heartfelt. SUMMERLY: Zorn is best known for his portrayal of the sun’s glittering play in the Swedish archipelago, often with lush naked ladies in the foreground. Anders Zorn: “After the bath”, 1895. He has also created pictures of indoor baths. In both of these images we see that he cultivates the female body with a great painterly passion. Anders Zorn: “Bading cullor”, 1906. Tamed and restrained The exhibition has its bright spots. Carl Fredrik Hill and Eugene Jansson stand out as important representatives of the era. I also liked the pictures of both Ester Almqvist and John Sten. HIGHLIGHT 1: John Sten is an artist with a clear sense of color and a somewhat more unique expression. It would be interesting to see more pictures of him. John Sten: “Autumn landscape”, 1906. HIGHLIGHT 2: Eugene Jansson is also an interesting figure. “Majnatt” is an atmospheric painting. Eugene Jansson: “Majnatt”, 1895. HIGHLIGHT: This picture arouses curiosity. The figure with its back turned brings in something mysterious. Ernst Josephson: “Byskvaller”, 1886. But what struck me as I wandered from picture to picture was that it was consistently somewhat more restrained, as if tamed with the Swedes: They lacked the individualized, powerful and unique character that characterizes so many of the Norwegians in this phase. GOOD, BUT: Ester Almqvist is clearly also interesting. Here there is an idiom and an expression, and clear choices have been made. But in my eyes, she is probably not on the same level as the aforementioned Norwegians. Ester Almqvist: “Hängbjörken”, 1900. Photo: Blaafarveværket What could be the reason? I know too little about Swedish art history to be able to draw firm conclusions, but I am tempted to think that it is about history and identity. Are there perhaps reflections of noble Sweden’s proximity to the continent? Were they simply more bound and influenced by their French and German role models? On the other hand, we know that Norwegian artists did not sit on the outermost, bare island, or in the innermost, deepest valley and paint their pictures without knowledge of European artistic life. On the contrary, the Norwegians were forced to travel to a greater extent than the Swedes, as there was neither any proper art education, nor any kind of art environment here at home. PILLS: This picture arouses curiosity. The figure with its back turned brings in something mysterious. Ernst Josephson: “Byskvaller”, 1886. Photo: Blaafarveværket But as I stood in the exhibition, I pondered whether there was still a kind of identity-based undercurrent in Norwegian. Which is connected precisely to small-scale life, the historical seclusion and proximity to the elements. Could it have laid the groundwork for greater originality in art here at home? Perhaps the political inferiority, the intense struggle for independence and nation-building have also contributed to giving Norwegian art a uniqueness that Swedish art never had? Can it be so? I do not know. I am just asking. Although the exhibition was a disappointment to say the least, it at least raised a lot of questions and reflections in me that I would not have been without. news reviews Photo: Blaafarveværket Title: “National Museum in Stockholm” Where: Blaafarveværket Exhibited artists: August Strindberg, Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, Bruno Liljefors, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Carl Fredrik Aagaard, Carl Wilhelmson, Sofie Werenskiold. Hildegard Thorell, Anselm Schultzberg, LA Ring, Eilif Peterssen, Hanna Pauli, Helmer Osslund, Ivar Nyberg, Elisabeth Keyser, Axel Jungstedt, Ernst Josephson, Eugéne Jansson, HF Gude, Anna Boberg, Oscar Björk, Hugo Salmson, Richard Bergh, Olof Sager -Nelson, Elisabeth Warling, Ingeborg Westfelt-Eggertz, Emma Löwstädt-Chadwick, Bertha Wegmann, Carl Fredrik Hill, Elias Erdtman, John Sten, Ester Almqvist, Nils Kreuger, Ferdinand Hernlund, Robert Thegerström, Axel Lindman, Alfred Bergström, Emma Toll. Date: 13.05.–24.09.2023 News morning, Politik kvarter and Kulturnytt – everything you need for an updated start to the day. Direct from studio 50 every morning.
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“National Museum in Stockholm” at Blaafarveværket – Reviews and recommendations
