Press release -
Nationalmuseum and the Louvre co-produces exhibition about Carl Gustaf Tessin
Nationalmuseum and the Louvre makes an exhibition about the Swedish count Carl Gustaf Tessin, opening in Paris 20 October. It comprises an exclusive selection of 120 paintings and drawings from Tessin’s own art collection, now owned by Nationalmuseum, that documents how artistic styles and tastes evolved in Paris at the height of the Rococo period. A modified version of the exhibition will be on show at Morgan Library in New York next spring.
The 18th century marked a peak in the artistic relationship between France and Sweden. French art was very influential in Sweden, and conversely a Swedish count, Carl Gustaf Tessin, played a significant role in the artistic life of the French capital for a brief but intense period. Tessin served as Swedish ambassador in Paris from 1739 to 1742. In this role, he was involved in top-secret political negotiations, but the enduring legacy of his time in France was the extensive contacts he made in the art world and the many works of art he acquired.
No other personal art collection assembled in 18th-century Paris remains as intact as Tessin’s, which documents how artistic styles and tastes evolved in the city at the height of the Rococo period. The collection now belongs to Nationalmuseum, where it is one of the crown jewels. An exclusive selection of 120 notable works from the Tessin collection is on show at the Louvre in autumn 2016. A lavishly illustrated catalogue has been published to coincide with the exhibition, featuring various articles about Tessin and his collection based on new research. This co-production by Nationalmuseum and the Louvre is the first of its kind for many years. The exhibition will move on, in a modified version, to the Morgan Library in New York, where it goes on show in spring 2017.
The exhibition A Swede in Paris in the 18th Century will be on show at the Louvre in Paris from 20 October 2016 until 16 January 2017.
www.louvre.fr/expositions/un-suedois-paris-au-18e-sieclela-collection-tessin
Press contact
Hanna Tottmar, Press Officer, press@nationalmuseum.se, +46 767 23 46 32
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Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s premier museum of art and design. The collections comprise older paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art, and applied art and design up to the present day. The museum building is currently under renovation and scheduled to open again in 2018. In the meantime, the museum will continue its activities through collaborations both in Sweden and abroad as well as temporary exhibitions at Nationalmuseum Design at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm. Nationalmuseum has partnerships with Svenska Dagbladet and the Grand Hôtel Stockholm, and acknowledges the support of FCB Fältman & Malmén.
