On 20 February, an exhibition of iconic works and how they have influenced contemporary artists opens at Nationalmuseum in Sweden. One of the exhibition’s key questions is why some works of art have become more famous than others? Artists in the exhibition include Marina Abramović, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Nancy Fouts, Mark Karasick, Sara Masüger, Kiki Smith, Yinka Shonibare and Henrik Jonsson.
Nationalmuseum has acquired the painting Adam in Paradise by the Danish artist Kristian Zahrtmann. It is one of a group of erotic depictions of men which were perceived at the time as being too provocative and ended up in private collections. Thanks to the acquisition, the painting will be one of only a few to be given a permanent place in public.
Nationalmuseum has recently acquired a number of rare objects made of silver plated brass, known as argent haché, from the late 18th century. Few of these objects have survived to the present day, and the museum’s collections had thus previously lacked examples of this important part of Swedish design history.
As part of their assignment to preserve and collect form and design, Nationalmuseum in Stockholm has now started a collection of Swedish fashion items with high artistic originality, created from the year 2000 and on. The collection started with the donation of a dress by Martin Bergström and five dresses designed by Pär Engsheden for Sara Danius.
Next year, Nationalmuseum will continue its extensive range of art and design exhibitions in the museum building on Blasieholmen in Stockholm.
Nationalmuseum has acquired two physiognomic self-portraits painted by the French artist, Joseph Ducreux, one of the foremost artists at the court of Louis XVI. Ducreux’s portraiture exhibits strong influences of naturalism and is characterized by the artist’s ability to capture a specific facial expression or emotional state.
Anna Ottani Cavina is Professor Emeritus of Art History, University of Bologna. In this year’s Tessin Lecture she will talk about Inventing the Landscape: The Origin of Outdoor Painting in Italy in the Early Nineteenth Century, the rise of plein air when artists abandoned their studios and took to painting straight from nature.
Since reopening last year, Nationalmuseum has become a success with visitors. In just one year, the museum has had more than one million visits, which is around three times more than before the renovation took place.
Nationalmuseum has recently acquired a sculpture in terracotta by Verner Åkerman depicting Pierre Louis Alexandre. Pierre Louis Alexandre is primarily known as a model at the Academy of Fine Arts in the latter part of the 1800s and there are many surviving studies of him. However, the acquired sculpture is the only one of its kind known today.
The exhibition Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour opens at Nationalmuseum in Sweden on October 17th. Internationally renowned star designer, Hella Jongerius displays her many years of artistic research into colour, light and materiality.
The 2019 Young Applied Artists goes to the ceramist Alexander Tallén from Stockholm. The scholarship is worth SEK 100,000 and is being presented by the Bengt Julin Fund, administered by the Friends of Nationalmuseum, at a ceremony which will take place on 21 November.
Nationalmuseum has acquired two important oil paintings by Frans Francken the Younger and Daniel Seghers, both influential artists in 17th-century Antwerp, the Golden Age of Flemish art.
