This spring, Nationalmuseum acquired a pair of superb quality nightstands with royal provenance. The nightstands are veneered in mahogany, with blacked lion’s paw feet, gilded North Stars and four winged sphinxes. They are an important addition to the museum’s collection of Swedish furniture from the early 19th century.
Nationalmuseum’s extensive collection of Dutch old masters has been enriched with the addition of a leading work by Jan Lievens. The painting of Saint Paul is dated 1627–1629 and was originally part of the Sparre collection. This is one of Nationalmuseum’s most significant acquisitions of recent years.
Nationalmuseum has acquired an elegant necklace by silversmith and artist Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe. In the mid-20th century, she transformed the way jewellery was made and appreciated through her design language and her choice of materials. Dating from the beginning of the 1950s, the necklace has a brass neck ring with a pendant in various woods and ivory.
Nationalmuseum’s major autumn exhibition Pride and Prejudice opens on 27 September. The focus is on female artists in France and Sweden during the 18th and 19th centuries and their opportunities to become professionals in their field. The show includes works by some of the women who managed to break into the world of the Royal Academies.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a very rare Jugendstil table lamp from 1915. It is one of only two known objects designed by Axel Enoch Boman for Orrefors. The lamp can be seen in the exhibition Light and Darkness which runs until 3 February.
On 20 June, Nationalmuseum launches its summer exhibition on light and darkness in art and life. The show presents examples of how our most renowned artists have used different techniques to mimic light and create depth. The core focus is on Nordic fin de siècle art, with around a hundred works on display from the museum’s own collection.
Queen Lovisa Ulrika’s memorial cup was donated to the museum at the annual meeting of the Friends of Nationalmuseum. This unique object was made by silversmith Pehr Zethelius and presented as a memento to Johan Wingård, Bishop of Gothenburg, in thanks for the funeral sermon that he gave for the deceased Queen in 1782.
From Tuesday 15 May until the end of summer, Gripsholm Castle will be open daily from 10 am – 4 pm. The castle, which is celebrating its 475th anniversary, offers something for everyone – from a floor dedicated to a princess, an 18th-century theatre, an armoury and a prison tower to one of the world’s biggest portrait collections. This year the family tours will start at 1 pm.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a painting by Swedish artist Hjalmar Sandberg. Sandberg participated in exhibitions in Paris in the 1870s and mixed with the greatest Swedish artists of the age, but is a name that has almost been forgotten. The painting of a scene in Vichy is inspired by French Realism and can be seen in the Modern Life exhibition.
Nationalmuseum’s collection of applied art and design now includes a number of pieces made in silversmith Gustaf Möllenborg’s workshop in Stockholm. The new acquisitions, which comprise a mantel clock, a pair of candlesticks and two salt cellars featuring elves eating porridge, are on display at the museum in the gallery of applied art and modern design.
10 May marks the start of Nationalmuseum’s Slow Art, an exhibition where technique, materials and painstaking processes take centre stage. The focus is on doing things well rather than quickly, on quality over quantity. The exhibition will present 30 or so works of applied art – all unique examples of superb craftsmanship.
When Nationalmuseum’s building closes down to be emptied for a year, its operations and collections will be moving out to continue engaging with the public across Sweden. Through a new collaboration with the illustrious Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, Nationalmuseum will also maintain a fixed base in the capital during the renovation period.
