The year at Nationalmuseum begins with exhibitions about the Norwegian artist Harriet Backer and the Japanese designer Akira Minagawa. It then ends with a large exhibition about Romanticism with art both from the 19th century and contemporary art.
Wednesday 11 October it is time for the Tessin Lecture 2023. This year it is given by the renown Romanian-Spanish art historian Victor I. Stoichita. The lecture will focus on Italian School of Venice-artist Gentile Bellini’s paintings from his visit to Istanbul circa 1480, especially his portrait of Sultan Mehmet II.
The exhibition Just like in a mirror – portraits over five centuries presents men, women and children who lived in or served Sweden from the 16th century to the present day. Not all the subjects were born in the country, but they all contributed in various ways to its history or cultural life. Some of the artists and subjects have a connection with Jämtland.
Nationalmuseum has received three donations of mid-20th-century illustrative art. Comprising some 500 works in total by Birger Lundquist, Bertil Almqvist and Allan Löthman, and covering a range of subject matter, techniques and styles typical of Swedish illustrative art of the period, the donations constitute a valuable addition to the museum’s collection.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a portrait of Axel von Fersen at the age of 23, painted in London in the summer of 1778. The superb miniature by an unknown British artist depicts a self-assured young man, perhaps on account of his intended marriage to a rich heiress.
Nationalmuseum has received 25 silver artefacts, forming 11 works, generously donated by the artist Anna Atterling. All the pieces were made using the silversmithing technique developed by Atterling, which results in delicate forms with decorative cavities. Several of the pieces will be on display in The Joy of Giving exhibition opening on 5 July.
Nationalmuseum’s collections include many exquisite, representative examples of Swedish and European silver from the 16th century to the present day. This unique collection has come about partly as a result of many generous donations and financial contributions received over the years. The exhibition The Joy of Giving presents some 80 gifts received by the museum in recent decades.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a portrait of Cassiano dal Pozzo, a prominent patron of the arts in 17th-century Rome. The drawing in red chalk was made in the 1620s by an unknown artist. There was previously only one known portrait of dal Pozzo, made about a decade later.
During the summer you can see a number of exhibitions produced by Nationalmuseum. At Nationalmuseum in Stockholm you can see The Garden – Six Centuries of Art and Nature, Beauty and the Unexpected and The Joy of Giving – silver donations. At The Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum Bathrooms for everyone! is on show, at Nationalmuseum Jamtli Ideal and Reality and at Läckö Castle Animals in Art.
Nationalmuseum has received six unique pieces of jewellery designed by the Swedish silversmith Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou. The pieces, in gold and oxidized silver set with brilliants, tanzanite, rubies and mandarin garnet, were designed between 1974 and 2007. They have been generously donated by the artist herself, who is closing her Östersund studio after 60 years.
Nationalmuseum has acquired its first sculpture by Camille Claudel, one of the most groundbreaking artists of the late 19th century. In her sculptures, Claudel explored her creativity and her lived experience, developing a highly personal style that broke with tradition. This prestigious acquisition symbolises the culmination of Nationalmuseum’s multiyear project focusing on female sculptors.
Beauty and the Unexpected features modern and contemporary American crafts selected by former gallerist and craft educator Helen W. Drutt English. The exhibition displays 81 objects including jewelry, chairs, ceramics, wall pieces and textiles from the 1950s until today.
