At Turku Art Museum, 9 October 2021–9 January 2022

Royal Salute from Sweden! Royal Salute showcased European and Swedish art from the collections of the Swedish Nationalmuseum. Spanning the past 500 years, the exhibition included paintings, sculptures, ceramics and also photographs of the Royal Family as part of the section on contemporary art. Comprising more than 50 exhibits, the show began with the Renaissance and continued through the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical periods to the early 20th century and finally to the turn of the millennium. The show featured art works rarely seen in Finland by such artists as Adriaen de Vries, Cranach, Rubens, Boucher and Manet, as well as Swedish classics including Roslin, Sergel and Carl Larsson.

Royal Salute was a lavish journey through the history of Western art as well as the surrounding context of political and cultural history of Europe. It illustrated how national art has been shaped in the crucible of international influences. The show also reminded us how the legacies of Swedish rulers such as Gustav II Adolf, Queen Christina and Gustav III live on in Finnish society. The exhibition included several works of art owned by Swedish royalty, such as Lucas Cranach the Elder‘s painting Lucretia, acquired by Gustav Vasa, Italian faience objects belonging to Queen Christina, and Rembrandt paintings owned by Gustav III, later reattributed to the master’s workshop.

Scenes based on colourful ancient myths and stories, masterful and allegorical still lifes, prestigious official portraits and intimate interiors all reflect the values and stylistic ideals of their day, just as the genre paintings, urban motifs and rural landscapes completed in the realist style of the second half of the 19th century. Some of the works are tangible reminders of encounters between European nations, such as the large bronze sculptures that came to Sweden from Prague and Denmark in the 17th century as spoils of war.

Produced in collaboration with the Nationalmuseum, Royal Salute was tailored for Turku Art Museum based on Nationalmuseum’s touring exhibition Six centuries of contemporary art.