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Nordic Myths
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Nordic Myths are about visual storytelling in Nordic art during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was an era before the advent of modern cinema, when art still had a largely narrative purpose. During this time, motifs taken from myths, fairytales and history were popular and used by many of the leading artists. The exhibition includes a number of works by artists such as Carl Larsson, Elsa Beskow, Ernst Josephson and August Malmström. In total, around 110 works are on display – mainly paintings and sculptures, but also drawings, graphics and applied arts. All the works in the exhibition belong to Nationalmuseum, which owns rich collections of Nordic art, especially 19th century Swedish art.
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Objektlista
Artist: Peter Nicolai Arbo
Title: Valkyrie
Description:
In Old Norse mythology the Valkyries were female beings who determined which warriors would die on the battlefield. The Valkyries then carried the dead warriors from the battlefield to the world of the gods, to Odin’s Valhall or Freyja’s Folkvangr. The Norwegian painter Arbo was one of the 19th century artists who devoted himself to painting subjects from Old Norse mythology. Trained as a painter at the academy in Düsseldorf, one of the most important art centres at the time.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Valkyrie |
| Artist | Peter Nicolai Arbo, Norwegian, born 1831, dead 1892 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 263 x 203 cm, Frame 292 x 225 x 9 cm |
| Dating | Sign. 1865 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1872 Karl XV |
| Inventory number | NM 1252 |
Artist: Bengt Erland Fogelberg
Title: Wotan, standing, in plumed helmet
Description:
This is a model for the monumental marble sculpture that king Karl XIV Johan commissioned from Fogelberg. It was no accident that the king ordered a sculpture of Odin. He had himself been adopted from France by king Karl XIII. And he had a personal interest in creating a historical context that would legitimize his place on the Swedish throne. As the god who had come as a warrior from the south, Odin was a perfect object of identification for the new king.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Wotan, standing, in plumed helmet |
| Artist | Bengt Erland Fogelberg, Swedish, born 1786, dead 1854 |
| Technique/Material | Plaster |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 68 cm |
| Dating | Executed c. 1828 |
| Acquisition | Purchase 1856 |
| Inventory number | NMSk 557 |
Artist: Gerhard Munthe
Title: Tapestry Showing Odin Riding Sleipner
Description:
Odin comes riding at full gallop on his eight-footed horse, Sleipner. Above his head fly Huginn and Muninn, the two ravens and he is seen holding his spear Gungnir. The textile was composed by Gerhard Munthe, a Norwegian artist who developed a decorative style inspired by Norwegian folk art at the turn of the century 1900. He was also interested in Old Norse subjects and, inter alia, illustrated Snorre Sturlasson’s Heimskringla.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Tapestry Showing Odin Riding Sleipner |
| Design | Gerhard Munthe, Norwegian, born 1849, dead 1929 |
| Manufacturer | Nordenfjeldske kunstindustrimuseum, founded 1893 |
| Technique/Material | Wool |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 125 x 102 cm |
| Acquisition | Purchase 1914 |
| Inventory number | NMK 13/1914 |
Artist: Mårten Eskil Winge
Title: Kraka
Description:
When King Ragnar is to meet his intended for the first time he tests her and encourages her to appear “neither dressed nor naked, satisfied or hungry, alone or in company”. The wise Kraka solves the test by dressing up in a fishing net in the company of a dog. According to legend she also had an onion in her mouth but, in the painting, this is lying on the ground instead. While he was still a child Winge was interested in Nordic mythology and he produced several paintings on this subject.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Kraka |
| Artist | Mårten Eskil Winge, Swedish, born 1825-09-21, dead 1896-04-22 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 160 x 217 cm, Frame 200 x 257 x 12 cm |
| Dating | Sign. 1862 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1872 of Charles XV of Sweden |
| Inventory number | NM 1247 |
Artist: Bengt Erland Fogelberg
Title: Thor
Description:
Perhaps Fogelberg’s Tor is the most instructive example of the way in which traditionally trained sculptors could approach the task of employing subjects taken from Nordic myths. Here we can see traces of both sculptures from classical antiquity that are of central importance such as Laocoon and his sons which is now in the Vatican Museum in Rome, and work by his tutor, Sergel. The Midgard serpent appears as fairly modest if one compares descriptions in Nordic literary sources.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Thor |
| Artist | Bengt Erland Fogelberg, Swedish, born 1786, dead 1854 |
| Technique/Material | Pencil, on paper |
| Dimensions | Frame 60 x 47 x 3,5 cm, Dimensions 19,5 x 10 cm , Passepartout 55 x 42 cm |
| Dating | 1839 |
| Acquisition | Transferred 1974 |
| Inventory number | NMH A 115/1974 |
Artist: Ossian Elgström
Title: Door with Iron Fittings - Birkarlarna and The Bear Hunt
Description:
During his journeys to Lapland and Greenland Elgström had been inspired by the art and folklore of the Sami and Inuit peoples. The Birkarls were Nordic dealers who traded with the Sami people. Here we see their encounter with the Sami ritual bear hunt. Elgström saw an affinity between the art of the native peoples and the archaic imagery of runes. He was later influenced by these sources in his illustrations of Nordic myths.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Door with Iron Fittings - Birkarlarna and The Bear Hunt |
| Design | Ossian Elgström, Swedish, born 1883, dead 1950 |
| Technique/Material | Pinewood. Iron fittings |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 190 x 110 cm |
| Dating | Made 1912 |
| Acquisition | Purchase 1914 |
| Inventory number | NMK 55/1914 |
Artist: Carl Wahlbom
Title: Gustav II Adolfs död i slaget vid Lützen
Description:
This is one of the best known images from Sweden’s 19th century art: the moment when king Gustavus Adolphus dies on the battlefield in Lützen on 6 November 1632. In the chaotic battle scene everything is focused on a centre that is strangely calm. The dead king, powerfully illuminated, seems to slide from his horse whereupon he is caught up by a horrified Swedish soldier. The king is portrayed as a national hero and martyr, a figure reminiscent of portrayals of the dead Christ.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Gustav II Adolfs död i slaget vid Lützen |
| Artist | Carl Wahlbom, Swedish, born 1810-10-16, dead 1858-04-25 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 101 x 151 cm, Frame 139 x 191 x 16 cm |
| Dating | Signed 1855 |
| Acquisition | Transferred 1865 Kongl. Museum |
| Inventory number | NM 1028 |
Artist: Carl Wahlbom
Title: King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden at Stuhm
Description:
This painting by Carl Wahlbom (together with the painting next to it – Gustavus Adolphus is found dead after the Battle of Lützen) was commissioned by Josefina, queen of Sweden and Norway. The scene is taken from a battle at Sztum (Trzciana in present-day Poland) during the second Polish war of 1829. The Swedish troops were defeated and the painting is an example of how 19th century artists often chose a heroic but tragic perspective in portraying historical characters.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden at Stuhm |
| Artist | Carl Wahlbom, Swedish, born 1810-10-16, dead 1858-04-25 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 63 x 75 cm, Frame 83,5 x 96 x 7,5 cm |
| Dating | Sign. 1854 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1872 Karl XV |
| Inventory number | NM 1241 |
Artist: Carl Wahlbom
Title: Finding the Body of King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden after the Battle of Lützen
Description:
Gustavus Adolphus was one of the Historical Swedish kings who was most admired during the 19th century. He was not just perceived as the nation’s hero but as the king who defended the Protestant faith against the Catholic faith during the Thirty Years’ War. Narratives of the king who gave his life for his people and his faith were central to the nationalist propaganda. Here Carl Wahlbom has portrayed how the dead king was discovered the next day following the Battle of Lützen.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Finding the Body of King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden after the Battle of Lützen |
| Artist | Carl Wahlbom, Swedish, born 1810-10-16, dead 1858-04-25 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 63 x 75 cm, Frame 84 x 97 x 8 cm |
| Dating | Sign. 1855 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1872 Karl XV |
| Inventory number | NM 1242 |
Artist: Julius Kronberg
Title: King Gustav Vasa of Sweden Receiving the Swedish Translation of the Bible
Description:
Artists in the 19th century artist liked to create images that summarized the importance of historical figures. This painting depicts Gustav Vasa as the Reformation king, the historic leader who transformed Sweden from a Catholic to a Protestant nation. We see the king receiving the new translation of the Bible into Swedish; a symbolic picture of the fact that priests were now to preach in the people’s native language and not in Latin as had previously been the case.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | King Gustav Vasa of Sweden Receiving the Swedish Translation of the Bible |
| Artist | Julius Kronberg, Swedish, born 1850-12-11, dead 1921-10-17 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Frame 192,5 x 238,5 x 19,8 cm Inc.build-up, Dimensions 158,5 x 203,5 cm |
| Dating | Sign. 1870 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1872 Karl XV |
| Inventory number | NM 4783 |
Artist: Hugo Salmson
Title: Gustav Vasa finds his consort Katarina Stenbock sleeping
Description:
Katarina Stenbock was only seventeen when she married Gustav Vasa who was almost forty years older. She became the king’s third queen. Hugo Salmson’s painting is an example of a slightly more anecdotic and humorous form of historical painting which became popular some decades into the 19th century. Salmson illustrates a popular tale which tells how the king hears how his wife, while still asleep, recalls her former fiancé Gustav Johansson (Tre Rosor [Three roses]).
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Gustav Vasa finds his consort Katarina Stenbock sleeping |
| Artist | Hugo Salmson, Swedish, born 1843, dead 1894 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 73 x 59 cm, Frame 96,5 x 82 cm |
| Dating | Signed 1868 |
| Acquisition | Purchase 2011 Axel Hirsch Fund |
| Inventory number | NM 7071 |
Artist: Nils Blommér
Title: Fairies of the Meadow
Description:
Blommér was one of the artists who wanted to create a national Swedish art in the mid-19th century with subjects taken from Norse myths and legends. Here, Blommér has painted fairies dancing in a meadow at twilight. In the background of the romantic landscape we see Gripsholm Castle. The painting was intended to be one in a series of four paintings illustrating the four seasons. These meadow fairies represented spring. Blommér died of pneumonia during a trip to Italy.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Fairies of the Meadow |
| Artist | Nils Blommér, Swedish, born 1816-06-12, dead 1853-02-01 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 115 x 143 cm, Frame 152 x 185 x 12 cm |
| Dating | Signed 1850 |
| Acquisition | Gift 1919 the Estate of Julie Weinberg |
| Inventory number | NM 2162 |
Artist: August Malmström
Title: Dancing Fairies
Description:
Early morning mist swirls across the ground. In Swedish folklore, this is known as älvdans, or dancing fairies. They were regarded as supernatural beings with largely evil powers. Malmström has portrayed them as girl-like figures, some more distinct and others almost dissolving into the mist. Scandinavian popular belief played an important part in attempts to create a national art, less dependent on the influence of countries such as France.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Dancing Fairies |
| Artist | August Malmström, Swedish, born 1829-10-14, dead 1901-10-18 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 90 x 149 cm, Frame 130 x 188 x 13 cm |
| Dating | Signed 1866 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1873 Karl XV |
| Inventory number | NM 1223 |
Artist: August Malmström
Title: Study. Dancing Fairies
Description:
In Malmström’s study for his painting of the dancing elves, the artist examines how he is to portray the ring dance across the meadow. Both Malmström and Blommér’s paintings of elves have been of great importance to depictions of the subject by later artists. But for most of us Malmström is best known for his painting of the children at the gate fighting over the tip from a recent traveller.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Study. Dancing Fairies |
| Artist | August Malmström, Swedish, born 1829-10-14, dead 1901-10-18 |
| Technique/Material | Pencil on paper |
| Dimensions | Frame 47 x 60 x 3,5 cm, Dimensions 15,9 x 28 cm , Passepartout 42 x 55 cm |
| Dating | 1866 |
| Acquisition | Gift 1902 estate of prof. A. Malmström |
| Inventory number | NMH 125/1902 |
Artist: Ernst Josephson
Title: The Water Sprite
Description:
The Water Sprite is playing intensely on his fiddle seeking to tempt us down into the rushing water. Ernst Josephson seems to have identified himself with the water sprite which can be regarded as a personification of the romantic role of the artist in which the artistic genius creates by himself without recourse to the community. Josephson created several versions of this subject over a number of years.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | The Water Sprite |
| Artist | Ernst Josephson, Swedish, born 1851-04-16, dead 1906 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Vikt 36,7 kg [med ram & glas], Dimensions 144 x 114 cm , Frame 163 x 133 x 10 cm |
| Dating | Made 1882 |
| Acquisition | Purchased 1915 with contribution from Nationalmusei Vänner |
| Inventory number | NM 1905 |
Artist: Nils Blommér
Title: The Water-Sprite and Ägir's Daughters
Description:
Nils Blommér portrayed a moonlit night in which the sea god Äegir’s daughters float on the waves surrounding the Water Sprite who is playing the harp. Aegir was married to Ran and they had nine daughters named for different waves. In the background the ruins of Stegeborg Castle (located close to Söderköping). The moonlight, the ruins and the figures borrowed from folklore and from Norse mythology make the painting a very typical representative of north European art in the romantic era.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | The Water-Sprite and Ägir's Daughters |
| Artist | Nils Blommér, Swedish, born 1816-06-12, dead 1853-02-01 |
| Technique/Material | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | Dimensions 114 x 147 cm, Frame 142 x 176 x 14 cm |
| Dating | Sign. 1850 |
| Acquisition | Bequest 1872 Karl XV |
| Inventory number | NM 1197 |
Artist: Ottilia Adelborg
Title: Design for a print illustrating "The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson" by Selma Lagerlöf
Description:
Besides illustrating and writing stories Adelborg was much concerned with her own part of the country and she did a great deal to save local crafts in Dalecarlia. Her interest in the country culture is often apparent in her paintings, and in the illustrations here we can see the provocative pixie jumping on the stairs in front of a splatter-painted wall.
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Design for a print illustrating "The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson" by Selma Lagerlöf |
| Artist | Ottilia Adelborg, Swedish, born 1855, dead 1936 |
| Technique/Material | Watercolour, pen and ink, on paper |
| Dimensions | Frame 47 x 60 x 3,5 cm, Dimensions 8 x 17 cm , Passepartout 42 x 55 cm |
| Dating | 1907 |
| Acquisition | Gift 1942 Maria and Gertrud Adelborg |
| Inventory number | NMH 509/1942 |
Artist: Elsa Beskow
Title: Children of the Forest, colour plate 6
Description:
When an old mountain troll turns up in the forest the children drop their moss and their basket full of blueberries and immediately rush off home. But in Elsa Beskow’s story the troll only wants to frighten the children. As they flee for their lives, the troll laughs and explains: “Oh, I think I had such fun that my tummy almost exploded!” And one can surely sense his mocking grin?
| Datafält | Värde |
| Title | Children of the Forest, colour plate 6 |
| Artist | Elsa Beskow, Swedish, born 1874, dead 1953 |
| Technique/Material | Watercolour on paper |
| Dimensions | Frame 60 x 47 x 3,5 cm, Dimensions 23,5 x 32 cm , Passepartout 55 x 42 cm |
| Dating | Made 1910 |
| Acquisition | Purchase 1974 The estate of Elsa Beskow |
| Inventory number | NMH 7/1974 |