Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume 21
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Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume 21 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume 21 2014 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Photo Credits Every effort has been made by the publisher to is published with generous support from © Palazzo d’Arco, Mantua, inv. 4494/Photo: credit organizations and individuals with regard the Friends of the Nationalmuseum. Nationalmuseum Image Archives, from Domenico to the supply of photographs. Please notify the Fetti 1588/89–1623, Eduard Safarik (ed.), Milan, publisher regarding corrections. Nationalmuseum collaborates with 1996, p. 280, fig. 82 (Figs. 2 and 9A, pp. 13 and Svenska Dagbladet and Grand Hôtel Stockholm. 19) Graphic Design We would also like to thank FCB Fältman & © Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow BIGG Malmén. (Fig. 3, p. 13) © bpk/Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/ Layout Cover Illustrations Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut (Figs. 4, 5B, 6B and Agneta Bervokk Domenico Fetti (1588/89–1623), David with the 7B, pp. 14–17) Head of Goliath, c. 1617/20. Oil on canvas, © Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Translation and Language Editing 161 x 99.5 cm. Purchase: The Wiros Fund. Content Program (Figs. 8 and 10B, pp. 18 and Gabriella Berggren, Martin Naylor and Kristin Nationalmuseum, NM 7280. 20) Belkin. © CATS-SMK (Fig. 10A, p. 20) Publisher © Dag Fosse/KODE (p. 25) Publishing Berndt Arell, Director General © Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design/ Ingrid Lindell (Publications Manager) and The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Janna Herder (Editor). Editor Design, Oslo (p. 28) Janna Herder © SMK Photo (p. 31) Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum is published © From the article ”La Tour and Lundberg’s annually and contains articles on the history and Editorial Committee portraits of la princesse de Rohan”, by Neil Jeffares, theory of art relating to the collections of the Mikael Ahlund, Magdalena Gram, Janna Herder, http://www.pastellists.com/Essays/LaTour_ Nationalmuseum. Helena Kåberg, Magnus Olausson and Lidia Rohan.pdf, 2015-09-21, (p. 40) Westerberg Olofsson. © The National Gallery, London. Bought, Cour- Nationalmuseum tauld Fund, 1924 (p. 42) Box 16176 Photographs © Stockholms Auktionsverk (p. 47) SE–103 24 Stockholm, Sweden Nationalmuseum Photographic Studio/ © Bukowskis, Stockholm (p. 94) www.nationalmuseum.se Linn Ahlgren, Olle Andersson, Erik Cornelius, © Thron Ullberg 2008 (p. 108) © Nationalmuseum, the authors and the owners Anna Danielsson, Cecilia Heisser, Bodil Karlsson © 2014, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg of the reproduced works and Sofia Persson. (pp. 133–134) © Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau (pp. 138–139) Picture Editor © Museen der Stadt Bamberg (pp. 140 and 142) Rikard Nordström © Archive of Thomas Fusenig (p. 141) © Nordiska museet, Stockholm/Karolina Kristensson (pp. 148–149) Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 4 contents Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume 21, 2014 Foreword The Editorial Committee 9 acquisitions 2014 Domenico Fetti’s David with the Head of Goliath Carina Fryklund 11 Scandinavian Oil Studies and a Portrait Carl-Johan Olsson 23 William Wood and Sir William Charles Ross: Two Great Names in British Miniature Painting Magnus Olausson 35 Maurice Quentin de La Tour’s Portrait of the Princesse de Rohan Magnus Olausson 39 5 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 contents Seurat’s Study of a Pair of Legs for the Painting Bathers at Asnières, 1884 Ulf Cederlöf 41 Two Original Illustrations for the Songbook Mors lilla Olle och andra visor af Alice Tegnér, Created by Elsa Beskow in 1903 Ulf Cederlöf 43 Two Watercolours by Ivar Arosenius Ulf Cederlöf 45 An English Cabinet in Imitation Lacquer Anders Bengtsson 47 A French Tapestry with a Swedish Provenance Anders Bengtsson 49 The Young Applied Artists Scholarship Micael Ernstell 51 Rolf Winquist and Kerstin Bernhard: Two Classics of 20th-Century Swedish Portraiture Magnus Olausson 57 The Friends of the Nationalmuseum Eva Qviberg 63 Acquisitions 2014: Exposé 65 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 6 contents exhibitions 2014 Crossing Borders Magnus Olausson 123 Highlights: Famous and Forgotten Art Treasures from the Nationalmuseum Mikael Ahlund 127 Selfies: Now and Then Margareta Gynning 131 From Tsars to Commissars: Russian and Soviet Painting from the Russian Museum Per Hedström 133 articles on the history and theory of art An Allegory of Sight attributed to Hans Christoph Schürer in the Nationalmuseum Thomas Fusenig 137 The Désert de Retz Revisited Magnus Olausson 145 shorter notices A Painting by Jan Asselijn from the Martelli Collection Carina Fryklund 151 Staff Publications and Activities in 2014 153 7 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 8 foreword Foreword The Editorial Committee Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum, Stockholm One of the biggest challenges us parts of the collection. We are already andra visor (1903). The Museum already facing the Nationalmuseum is to create a seeing the concrete results of this effort. owned three illustrations and was 2014 new presentation of the collection for the The Museum already has the world’s finest able to add Ekorrn satt i granen (Squirrel refurbished museum premises in 2018. collection of women miniaturists, and it in the spruce tree) and Småjäntorna (Little This involves identifying what makes the was extended this year with further artists. girls are standing by the door) to its collec- Museum unique in an international per- The same is true of portrait paintings and tion (see article on p. 43). spective, what has previously not been high- portrait photography, where key works Nordic art is often presented in the lighted, and what needs to be enhanced. have been acquired. Most recently, some Nationalmuseum’s exhibition, but the Over the past year, several project teams thirty photographic works by Kerstin Bern- Museum previously owned relatively few have performed inventories on the Muse- hard (1914–2004) were added to the col- works from our neighbouring countries. um’s rich collection, and made acquisitions lection (see article on p. 57). Read more in the article on p. 23 about for the parts that needed to be developed. This volume of Art Bulletin of Natio- the Museum’s acquisitions, especially from Research has been conducted for a nalmuseum, Stockholm describes in detail the Danish golden era, with artists such as long period, to improve our knowledge how the crafts section has similarly been Constantin Hansen, Christen Købke, Peter about the collection and uncover its hid- enhanced through systematic acquisi- Christian Skougaard, Martinus Rørby and den potential to both specialists and the tions. These are primarily focused on the the Norwegian artist Thomas Fearnley, general public. This activity has resulted inter-war period’s large generation of wo- who studied art in Denmark. in several publications and exhibitions. men artists active in metal crafts, a field The Nationalmuseum has always play- The latest of these included the Italian pro- that is not traditionally associated with wo- ed a vital part in preserving the Swedish ject headed by Associate Professor Sabrina men. Among these are the now-forgotten cultural heritage. Unfortunately, our go- Norlander Eliasson. Italian Paintings: Three silver designers Wilhelmina Wendt (1896– vernment assignment allows only limited Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stock- 1988) and Märta Rockström-Lindh (1904– possibilities when it comes to rescuing holm, Volume 1 – the first volume of two cata- 1996). Another noteworthy example is the crucial treasures. Against this background, logues raisonnés – was published in spring more well-known Greta Magnusson Gross- the Museum’s own funding has occasion- 2015. This part of the collection has long man (1906–1999), whose famous lamp was ally been used for such specific acquisi- been neglected, but a consequence of the bought for the collection. tions – in 2014, a few priceless remnants Italian project is that we now have the Swedish book design is an important, of the collections at the manor houses of opportunity to see one of last year’s most yet relatively unknown, area of collecting Biby and Skärfva could be saved, partly spectacular acquisitions, Domenico Fetti’s for the Nationalmuseum, along with child- thanks to the Friends of the Nationalmu- composition David with the Head of Goliath, ren’s book illustrations. No deadline has seum. In view of this, it is especially plea- painted around 1620 at the court of Man- been set for this collecting activity. By sing that a large tapestry on the theme of tua (see article on p. 11). acquiring Elsa Beskow’s Tomtebobarnen, October, woven at Les Gobelins and a gift One specific shortcoming in the Mu- the Museum now owns one of the finest from Louis XV to Erik Sparre could be re- seum’s collections concerns the number objects in the field. An equally invaluable patriated, after having left Sweden nearly a of women artists and designers. The Na- part of Swedish children’s literature is Elsa century ago (see article on p. 49). tionalmuseum now intends to correct Beskow’s illustrations to Alice Tegnér’s The introduction of a photographic col- this with targeted acquisitions for vario- book of children’s songs, Mors lilla Olle och lection within the National Swedish Portrait 9 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 foreword Gallery has not only added numerous artists that this will make it easier to share know- who had been missing, but has also substan- ledge about the Museum and its activities tially democratised the representation of a with a broader public. The Nationalmuse- wide variety of persons. With the acquisition um is striving to enhance its digital resour- of some 20 portraits by a younger genera- ces by establishing new methods and gui- tion of Swedish photographers in connec- delines for digital publishing of research, tion with the exhibition Crossing Borders including previously processed materials (see article on p. 123), the situation has in our collections and research reports. changed significantly in this respect.