Nationalmuseum, Moderna Museet and Konstakademien are showcasing the strengths of their respective collections by bringing together works from different eras in a co-produced exhibition titled The Artist. On show will be close to 100 works by some of the biggest names in art history, from Rubens and Rembrandt via Renoir and Picasso to Cindy Sherman.
This spring Nationalmuseum Design will host an exhibition of contemporary art jewellery. The exhibition features 30 artists from all over the world, with about 160 works on display. The curator is Dr. Ellen Maurer Zilioli, who is based in Germany.
A Gustavian wall clock, believed to be the only one of its kind, is a welcome new addition to Nationalmuseum’s collection. Dating from 1777, the clock bears the signature of Jacob Kock, clockmaker to the Swedish royal court. However, the main source of interest is neither the clock mechanism nor the gilded wooden case, but the unique clock face in white-glazed faience.
December 4 sees the opening of two exhibitions at Nationalmuseum Design. The New Map describes how collaboration between designers and manufacturers is highlighting the scope for local partnerships in an era when many believe Swedish manufacturing is dead. Women Pioneers presents works from the interwar years by accomplished female artists and designers whom history has more or less forgotten.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a watercolour study of a male lumpsucker dating from the late 1500s. The newly acquired study is a significant addition to the museum’s important collection of Old Master drawings, and brings new perspectives on the group of autograph Goltzius’ drawings.
Since 2009, a huge research project on the Italian paintings collection of Nationalmuseum in Stockholm has been in progress. The collection contains well-known works by great artists but the project has also made new discoveries. The results have been published in a catalogue raisonné to be presented at Palazzo Corsini in Rome on 15 October.
This autumn, Nationalmuseum presents a major exhibition about the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, co-produced with the Musée Rodin, Paris, and the Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki. Many of Rodin’s works have achieved iconic status. The Thinker is one of the world’s best-known sculptures.
Nationalmuseum has acquired an oil head study of a boy by Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert dating from the mid-1640s. Probably, the study is a so-called tronie, and the boy depicted was, among others, used as a model for Amor Triumphant Amongst the Emblems of Art, Science and War by the same artist. The new acquisition permits the two closely related works to be reunited in the collections.
In the exhibition Domestic Futures at Nationalmuseum Design designers from all over the world speculate how design and products have the power to influence our everyday life. Will we generate our own power, keep replacement organs at home in the fridge or even own an apartment on another planet? A press preview of the exhibition is held on 18 September at 10 am.
In preparation for the opening of the renovated museum, Nationalmuseum has established a working relationship with Joel Sanders Architect. The project includes designing display components such as display cases, podiums and benches, which will be needed when the museum returns to its permanent home.
Nationalmuseum has added a work by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Singry to its renowned collection of miniatures. With this masterful portrait of the actor Antoine Michaut, the artist was trying to compete with larger-format oil paintings. The acquisition is one of two known replicas and was formerly part of Ernst Holzscheiter’s collection.
A cabinet and two chairs designed by Carl Hörvik have been gifted to Nationalmuseum. These exclusive pieces in a pared-down classical style were exhibited in the Swedish pavilion at the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris as part of a suite of furniture that won the exhibition’s highest accolade.
