Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume 23 The Danish Golden Age and the Nationalmuseum Magnus Olausson, Director of Collections and Research Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, © The National Library of Sweden, Stockholm Graphic Design is published with generous support from (Fig. 4, p. 38. Fig. 21, p. 211. Fig. 28, p. 215) BIGG the Friends of the Nationalmuseum. © Alte Nationalgallerie, Berlin (Fig. 2, p. 40) Layout Nationalmuseum collaborates with © Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg Agneta Bervokk Svenska Dagbladet and Grand Hôtel Stockholm. (Fig. 3, p. 41) We would also like to thank FCB Fältman & © Neue Pinakothek, Munich Translation and Language Editing Malmén. (Fig. 5, p. 43) Gabriella Berggren, William Jewson, David Jones © The Morgan Library & Museum, New York and Martin Naylor Cover Illustration (Fig. 4, p. 109. Fig. 32–33, p. 217) Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853), © The Matthiesen Gallery, London Publishing Danish. “Una Ciociara”– Portrait of a Roman Country (Fig. 1, p. 108) Ludvig Florén, Magnus Olausson (Editors) and Girl, 1816. Oil on canvas, 52 x 46.5 cm. Purchase: © The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Ingrid Lindell (Publications Manager) Wiros Fund. NM 7334. (Fig. 2, p. 122) © Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum is published Publisher (Fig. 3, p. 123) annually and contains articles on the history and Berndt Arell, Director General © Robilant + Voena theory of art relating to the collections of the (Fig. 4, p. 124) Nationalmuseum. Editor © The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm Ludvig Florén and Magnus Olausson (Fig. 3, p. 204) Nationalmuseum © The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. Box 16176 Editorial Committee Photo: Joshua Ferdinand SE–103 24 Stockholm, Sweden Janna Herder, Linda Hinners, Merit Laine, (Fig. 4, p. 205) www.nationalmuseum.se Lena Munther, Magnus Olausson, Martin Olin, © Musée du Louvre, Paris. RMN-Grand Palais/Art © Nationalmuseum, the authors and the owners of Maria Perers and Lidia Westerberg Olofsson Resource, NY the reproduced works (Fig. 5, p. 205) Photographs © Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna ISSN 2001-9238 Nationalmuseum Photographic Studio/ (Fig. 8, p. 207) Linn Ahlgren, Bodil Beckman, Erik Cornelius, © The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Anna Danielsson, Cecilia Heisser, Sofia Persson, Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Per-Åke Persson and Hans Thorwid Program (Fig. 10, p. 208. Fig. 30, p. 216) Picture Editor © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Rikard Nordström (Fig. 11, p. 208) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Photo Credits (Fig. 18, p. 210. Fig. 23, p. 212. Fig. 31, p. 216) © Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen © Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia (Fig. 5, p. 21. Fig. 1, p. 36) (Fig. 24, p. 213. Fig. 26, p. 214) © Amsterdams Historisch Museum, Amsterdam © Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis. (Fig. 2, p. 32) John Herron Fund. © Trustees of the British Museum, London (Fig. 25, p. 213) (Fig. 3, p. 33. Fig. 6, p. 38) © Stockholms auktionsverk © The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland (Fig. 8, p. 136) (Fig. 2, p. 36) Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 23, 2016 4 acquisitions/the danish golden age and the nationalmuseum The Danish Golden Age and the Nationalmuseum Magnus Olausson Director of Collections and Research Fig. 1 Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853), The Monastery of St Maria in Aracoeli, 1815. Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 cm. Nationalmuseum, NM 1928. 19 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 23, 2016 acquisitions/the danish golden age and the nationalmuseum Fig. 2 Jørgen Roed (1808–1888), From Collin’s Garden in Copenhagen, 1833. Fig. 4 Albert Küchler (1803–1886), Woman with a Slouch Hat in her Lap. Pencil Oil on cardboard mounted on panel, 33 x 25 cm. Nationalmuseum, NM 2394. on paper, 36 x 28 cm. Nationalmuseum, NMH 921/1924. A preliminary study for Roman Peasants Buying a Hat for Their Little Son, who is to be an Abbate. Awareness of the greatness of director Richard Bergh,2 who numbered (Fig. 1), a gift from the Friends of the Danish art from the first half of the 19th several Danish artists among his friends. Nationalmuseum. With virtually no century came remarkably late in Sweden. Prince Eugen would also be of some Danish art from the period in the Muse- Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, it is true, significance, as would a close friend of his, um’s collections at that point, Bergh first had a number of Swedish pupils, and Helena Nyblom, the daughter of Jørgen wanted to generate interest by putting many of his Danish followers travelled to Roed.3 As soon as Bergh became director, on exhibitions. He persuaded his friend, Sweden in search of picturesque subjects, he set to work strengthening the Muse- the insurance magnate and art collector but none of this sparked any appreciable um’s collections in this area. The year Wilhelm Hansen at Ordrupgaard, to lend interest in that country in the art of its he was appointed, 1915, several Danish his collection, and in spring 1918 it was neighbour. Nor did the rapid rise of paintings were acquired, among them an shown at the Nationalmuseum. A new Scandinavianism have any impact in that Italian Woman in National Costume by exhibition quickly followed in the autumn respect.1 Credit for first drawing attention Wilhelm Marstrand (NM 1840), to be of the same year, now of Danish drawings, to Danish art from the period 1800–1850 joined the following year by Eckersberg’s put together by the leading authority, Karl must go to the artist and Nationalmuseum The Monastery of St Maria in Aracoeli Madsen, director of the National Gallery Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 23, 2016 20 acquisitions/the danish golden age and the nationalmuseum Fig. 5 Albert Küchler (1803–1886), Roman Peasants Buying a Hat for Their Little Fig. 3 Wilhelm Marstrand (1810–1873), Italian Landscape. Oil on paper Son, Who is to be an Abbate, 1840. Oil on canvas, 75.9 x 92.8. Thorvaldsens mounted on wood, 37 x 43 cm. Nationalmuseum, NM 2250. Museum, Copenhagen, B246. of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst). tions were concerned. In its 1924 year- businessmen in the food industry who are As a result of these efforts, a number of book, Axel Gauffin, who at the time was earning money and consequently buying landscape paintings by Peter Christian head of the paintings department, proudly art in Copenhagen”.7 The comment can Skovgaard and Wilhelm Kyhn could be announced that the Museum had recently be traced back to a Danish newspaper added to the Nationalmuseum collections. made a successful bid for Jørgen Roed’s report on the Glückstadt sale, highlighting Much of this was a consequence of From Collin’s Garden in Copenhagen (Fig. 2) how “both Wholesaler Theodor Jensen Richard Bergh’s many contacts, not least at the sale of Consul General Valdemar and Engineer Rump sought to offer the a gift from Danish friends on his 60th Glückstadt’s collection. The fact that the Swedes as much resistance as possible”.8 birthday in 1919. Following Bergh’s death painting was already highly prized among The article concluded on a good-natured the same year, it was left to the Swedish Danish art historians added to Gauffin’s note, however, congratulating the Association for Art (Sveriges Allmänna satisfaction. He considered the new addi- Nationalmuseum on its acquisition and Konstförening) to give effect to his plans tion particularly gratifying in view of the observing that Roed’s painting would for an exhibition of Danish art from the difficulties the Museum had had getting “represent the Danish Golden Age in the first half of the 19th century, which was hold of Danish paintings from the period.6 best possible way in Stockholm”. held at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in He was pessimistic, though, about its Despite this resistance, the Museum Stockholm in 1922.4 This display was the chances of acquiring major works, as in his managed to make a number of significant first significant one mounted outside view these were already in Danish public acquisitions in the early 1920s of artists Denmark, but there would in fact be only collections, at the same time as those such as Eckersberg, Jensen, Købke and one sequel to it, at the Jeu de Paume in collections continued to grow. According Marstrand. An Italian landscape painted Paris in 1928, organised by Karl Madsen.5 to Gauffin, private collecting of national by Marstrand was bought from Jørgen Despite Bergh’s sudden death, the art was also widespread in Denmark, Roed’s grandson Holger Nyblom (Fig. 3). Nationalmuseum continued along the adding to the competition. There is a Another Swedish source can be identified path already staked out as far as acquisi- sharp edge to his claim that “at present it is for important drawings by the great 21 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 23, 2016 acquisitions/the danish golden age and the nationalmuseum Fig. 6 Jørgen Roed (1808–1888), Portrait of Colonel von Darcheus, 1834. Fig. 7 Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853), Oedipus and Antigone, Oil on canvas, 32.5 x 26.5 cm. Nationalmuseum, NM 6231. 1812. Oil on canvas, 61.5 x 50 cm. Purchase: The Wiros Fund. Nationalmuseum, NM 7340. Danish artists in Italy, namely Axel Palm, of the 1930s, further works were regularly another, at the Palazzo Braschi in Rome,11 son of the painter Gustaf Wilhelm Palm. In acquired, albeit not in large numbers. and it would be another seven years before 1924 he presented the Nationalmuseum A driving force here was the Museum’s the National Gallery in London mounted with several significant works by, among long-serving director, Axel Gauffin, who a corresponding project. This would be others, Albert Küchler (Figs. 4 and 5).9 had a passionate interest in the Danish Kasper Monrad’s first major international The Museum’s single-minded ambi- Golden Age.10 presentation of Danish Golden Age art, tion, reflected not least in much courting During and immediately after the war, but by no means his last.