The Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm is a journal devoted to art history. It is published in English twice a year with a content that ranges from older master paintings to contemporary design. This, the second part of volume 27, focuses primarily on acquisitions in 2020.
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Articles
Foreword
Susanna Pettersson
The Friends of the Nationalmuseum – A Review of 2020
Anders Lundin
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Carina Fryklund and Lena Dahlén
This Gentileschi painting is a masterpiece by the artist, widely regarded as the most celebrated female painter of 17th-century Italy, painted at the height of her creative powers, painted probably in the 1620s, in Rome or Venice. As such it constitutes a significant addition to the Nationalmuseum’s Italian Baroque paintings collection. After its purchase by the Nationalmuseum, while it was being made ready for public display, a campaign of technical investigation was undertaken as a contribution to the ongoing effort to better understand the artist’s working practice.
Eye Miniatures – Privacy and Intimacy in Miniature Painting
Magnus Olausson
This article is an enquiry into the nature of eye miniature that came into fashion at the end of the 18th century, illustrated by a number of spectacular items in the Nationalmuseum. Commissioned for sentimental reasons they were often worn as pendants, rings and brooches. We are introduced to the use and importance of eye miniatures both during the late 18th century and the brief renaissance following the romance between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Louis-Michel van Loo’s Portrait of the Medal Engraver and Goldsmith Jacques Roettiers – Artistic Dynasties, Professional Pride and Interconnectivity in the Nationalmuseum Collections
Daniel Prytz
The article focuses on a portrait of the medal engraver and goldsmith Jacques Roettiers (1707–1784) by Louis-Michel van Loos (1707–1771). The portrait is analysed in view of van Loos and Roettier's respective backgrounds in artistic dynasties and how pride in the artistic heritage is evident from the way in which Roettiers is depicted. Another focal point of the article is how the painting relates to other works in the Nationalmuseum's collections, primarily executed by Roettier's friend, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686–1755).
Les Misérables in Two Genre Paintings by Jean-Claude Bonnefond
Martin Olin
Among the recurrent subjects in French genre painting can be noted poor Savoyard children, making a living as itenerant entertainers. The Little Savoyards’ Bedroom by Jean-Claude Bonnefond (1796-1860) was shown at the Salon of 1817 and was acquired by the Duke of Berry, who the following year purchased two further paintings by Bonnefond. These paintings were published in the 1822 catalogue of the widowed Duchess of Berry’s collection, where the author Féréol Bonnemaison criticize them for excessive preoccupation with detail.
Hjalmar Mörner’s Military Background, a New Beginning in Rome and The Real Belisarius
Daniel Prytz
The article discusses Hjalmar Mörner's (1794–1837) The Real Belisarius in light of how the subject has traditionally been depicted in the visual arts. The painting, executed in Rome in 1821, is unusual in Mörner's oeuvre and his way of approaching the subject is also, for example, described with his military background in mind. The fruitful context in Rome, in which the work was created is also illustrated, where Mörner, among other things, were influenced by acquaintances with artists such as Jean-Victor Schnetz (1787–1870).
Johan Wilhelm Bergström’s Portrait of His Wife, Charlotta Ronjon
Eva-Lena Karlsson
Johan Wilhelm Bergström (1812–1881) was a pioneer in photography in Sweden. During the years 1843–54, he worked as a daguerreotypist with his own studio in Stockholm. Among his most prominent works is a portrait of his wife Charlotta Bergström, a staged tableau in which she sits at a spinning wheel. The daguerreotype has recently been acquired by the Swedish National Portrait Gallery, which was thereby enriched with one of the most significant works of early Swedish photography.
A French Donation of Danish Golden Age Art
Magnus Olausson
The topic of this article is the history of collecting Danish Golden Age art during the past century. A number of prominent individual collectors are mentioned. One of them, the French publisher Jean-Loup Champion has recently donated two coastal landscapes and a view of a Tyrolian hut by three major Danish artists – Raadsig, Sørensen and Sødring. All three paintings make an excellent fit with Nationalmuseum’s important collection of Danish Golden Age art.
Richard Bergh’s Model with a Fan – Japonisme of a Particularly Fashionable Kind
Daniel Prytz
Richard Bergh's (1858–1919) Model with a Fan (1883) is perhaps the most obvious example of Japonisme in his oeuvre. In this article, the painting is examined in the context of other works bordering on Japonisme executed by Bergh in France in the 1880s, a time when he was influenced by a variety of artistic movements. Comparisons are also made with how Japonisme was expressed in Swedish art in general at the time. Finally, the painting is also considered in view of Bergh's art theory.
Three Design Classics: Marianne Brandt, Margarete Schütte-Lihotsky and Henry Dreyfuss
Cilla Robach
The Friends of the Nationalmuseum’s Design Fund has generously donated three international objects and PhD Cilla Robach, Head och Collection Unit, presents them in this article. The objects are the table lamp Kandem designed 1928 by Marianne Brandt and Hin Bredendieck, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s storage bins for her Frankfurter Kitchen, 1926, and Henry Dreyfuss’s wall lamp for the Twentieth Century Limited express train in 1938.
NM& – A New Collection for the Nationalmuseum Restaurant
Helena Kåberg
In October 2018 when the Nationalmuseum’s new restaurant opened, it had a completely new interior, with furniture, light fittings and tableware specially designed for the Museum. The interior was the result of a unique artistic collaboration. The design processes were documented and presented in the book NM&: A New Collection. A selection of the objects was also acquired to the Museum’s collection and, with a focus on design in glass, wood and ceramics, some of them are presented here.
Copying from the Old Masters. Raphael “à la française”: The Holy Family with a Sparrow and its Copies by Philippe de Champaigne and Jean Baptiste Corneille
Sarah Ferrari
The article investigates the origin and later circulation of a composition known as the Holy Family with a Sparrow, the invention of which has been doubtfully linked to Raphael. By providing a comparative analysis of two copies by Philippe de Champaigne and Jean Baptiste Corneille, the article aims to provide new elements on the identification of the original prototype.
Cornelis de Vos Assisting Rubens. A Note on his Head Studies for the Torre de la Parada
Hans Vlieghe
A small painting titled Study of Two Heads was acquired by the Nationalmuseum (Kongl. Museum) in 1864 and has for a long time been considered a work painted in Anthony van Dyck’s workshop or at least by someone active in his circle. Hans Vlieghe argues in this article that the heads should be attributed to Cornelis de Vos, as studies in the preparation process of the facial expressions of both Apollo and Bacchus in the respective Rubens compositions for the Torre de la Parada.
Karin Björquist – Shaping a Thought
Ulrika Schaeder
In 2017 designer Karin Björquist generously donated her private archives and collection of objects to the Nationalmuseum. Through her gift, we can follow her creative process and explore the thoughts behind the well-known designs. The article covers her products for a functional daily life, for examples the Röd kant tableware, the Modell BL coffee cup, assignments for the public environment as the metro station Mariatorget’s architectonic ceramics and her work with the new dinner service for the Nobel Banquet.
Staff Publications and Activities 2020
Editorial staff
Editors: Ludvig Florén, Magnus Olausson and Martin Olin.
Editorial Committee: Ludvig Florén, Carina Fryklund, Eva-Lena Karlsson, Helena Kåberg, Ingrid Lindell, Magnus Olausson, Martin Olin, Daniel Prytz and Cilla Robach.
The publication has been funded by the Friends of the Nationalmuseum.
E-ISSN: 2001-9238