Carl Larsson: Friends & Enemies mÉê eÉÇëíê∏ã aáêÉÅíçê çÑ bñÜáÄáíáçåë NP gìåÉ Ó P kçîÉãÄÉê OMNP Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume OM Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Picture Editor Every effort has been made by the publisher to is published with generous support from the Rikard Nordström credit organizations and individuals with regard Friends of the Nationalmuseum. to the supply of photographs. Please notify the Photo Credits publisher regarding corrections. The Nationalmuseum collaborates with © Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig Svenska Dagbladet, Fältman & Malmén (p. NQ ) Graphic Design and Grand Hôtel Stockholm. © The Gothenburg Museum of Art/Hossein BIGG Sehatlou (p. NU ) Items in the Acquisitions section are listed © Malmö Art Museum/Andreas Rasmusson Layout alphabetically by artists’ names, except in the case (p. OO ) Agneta Bervokk of applied arts items, which are listed in order of © Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York (p. OV ) their inventory numbers. Measurements are in © RMN Grand Palais/Musée du Louvre, Translation and Language Editing centimetres – Height H, Breadth B, Depth D, Paris/Hervé Lewandowski (p. PMF Gabriella Berggren and Martin Naylor. Length L, Width W, and Diameter Diam. © The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles – except for those of drawings and prints, which (Fig. QI p. PN ) Publications are given in millimetres. © RMN Grand Palais/Musée du Louvre, Ingrid Lindell (Publications Manager), Paris/René-Gabriel Ojéda (Fig. RI p. PN ) Janna Herder (Editor). Cover Illustration © Guilhem Scherf (p. PO ) Alexander Roslin ( NTNU ÓNTVP ), The Artist and his © Bridgeman/Institute of Arts, Detroit (p. PP ) Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum is published Wife Marie Suzanne Giroust Portraying Henrik © Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris/Jean Tholance annually and contains articles on the history Wilhelm Peill, NTST . Oil on canvas, NPN ñ VUKR cm. (p. PQ ) and theory of art relating to the collections of Donated by the Friends of the Nationalmuseum, © RMN Grand Palais/Musée du Louvre, Paris the Nationalmuseum. Sophia Giesecke Fund, Axel Hirsch Fund (p. PR ) and Mr Stefan Persson and Mrs Denise Persson. © Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum, åã TNQNK Rome/Mauro Coen (Figs, SI NM and NO , Box NSNTS pp. NNQ ÓNNS ) ëÉ ÓNMP OQ Stockholm, Sweden Publisher © Mikael Traung (Fig. T, p. NNQ ) www.nationalmuseum.se Magdalena Gram © Stockholm City Museum (p. NOP ) © Nationalmuseum and the authors http://www.stockholmskallan.se/Soksida/Post/?n Editor id=319 ISSN OMMNJVOPU Janna Herder © Stockholm City Museum/Lennart af Petersens (p. NOQ ) Editorial Committee © http://www.genealogi.se/component/ Mikael Ahlund, Magdalena Gram, Janna Herder, mtree/soedermanland/eskilstuna/ Helena Kåberg and Magnus Olausson. a_zetherstroem_/22850?Itemid=604 (p. NOR ) © http://www.genealogi.se/component/ Photographs mtree/bohuslaen/marstrand/robert-dahlloefs- Natinalmuseum Photographic Studio/Linn atelier/22851?Itemid=604 (p. NOT ) Ahlgren, Erik Cornelius, Anna Danielsson, Cecilia Heisser, Bodil Karlsson, Per-Åke Persson, Sofia Persson and Hans Thorwid. ÉñÜáÄáíáçåëLÅ~êä ä~êëëçåW ÑêáÉåÇë C ÉåÉãáÉë Carl Larsson: Friends & Enemies mÉê eÉÇëíê∏ã aáêÉÅíçê çÑ bñÜáÄáíáçåë NP gìåÉ Ó P kçîÉãÄÉê OMNP få É~êäó cÉÄêì~êó OMNP , the Na - tionalmuseum closed its main building on Blasieholmen in Stockholm for several years of refurbishment. In June, the first of a num - ber of exhibitions in the Museum’s tempo - rary premises opened. The exhibition, Carl Larsson: Friends & Enemies, was shown in three large galleries at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts on Fredsgatan in Stockholm. The subject of the exhibition was cho - sen partly in view of the summer visitors and the vast number of Swedish and for - eign tourists who usually come to the Na - tionalmuseum during the holidays. Carl Larsson is one of the most popular artists in the collection, and Swedish and Nordic art from around the turn of the NV th century is generally loved by the summer audience. The theme – a presentation of Carl Larsson as a proponent of fin de siècle art and tradi - tions – seemed to be perfect for Stockholm in the summer of OMNP . The exhibition fea - tured Carl Larsson’s own works together with several works by famous Swedish artists from the period, including Anders Zorn, Hanna Pauli and Karl Nordström. The focus was on Carl Larsson as a lead - ing figure on a highly dynamic arts scene. In Swedish cultural history, the late NUMM s are often described as a golden era, and the NUVM s appear to have been a pivotal decade when several prominent artists and writers were at the zenith of their careers. The most internationally famous of these was, of course, August Strindberg, who was a close friend of Carl Larsson for many years, but Fig. N Carl Larsson ( NURP ÓNVNV ), August Strindberg, NUVV . Charcoal and oil on canvas, RS ñ PV cm. Nationalmuseum, åãÄ PVUK VT Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume OM OMNP ÉñÜáÄáíáçåëLÅ~êä ä~êëëçåW ÑêáÉåÇë C ÉåÉãáÉë eventually became one of his worst ene - mies. In NVMU , Strindberg viciously attacked Carl Larsson and his wife in A New Blue Book, under the heading “Fabricated Char - acters”. Carl Larsson was deeply offended. A small section of the exhibition was devot - ed to the relationship between Carl Larsson and August Strindberg. It featured Carl Larsson’s portrait of Strindberg (Fig. N), along with one of Strindberg’s paintings. The exhibition was largely arranged ac - cording to themes, based on Carl Larsson’s personal relationships and his influence on the arts scene around NVMM . But it also presented Carl Larsson’s life and oeuvre and covered his life and artistic develop - ment from his impoverished childhood in Stockholm, his studies at the Royal Acade - my of Fine Arts and his time in Grez-sur- Loing, to the portrait painting and presti - gious public commissions in later years. Fig. O Carl Larsson ( NURP ÓNVNV ), A Day of Celebration, c. NVUV . Watercolour, PO ñ QP cm. Nationalmuseum, åãÄ OUMK Visitors thus had an opportunity to see a number of Carl Larsson’s most famous works, including many pictures of his home and family at Sundborn in Dalarna. These are the images that made him so im - mensely popular (Fig. OFK In NUUP , Carl Larsson married the Swedish painter Karin Bergöö. They had met in France, and Karin eventually had a crucial impact on Carl Larsson’s artistic career. Karin Bergöö studied art in Stock - holm and Paris, but stopped painting af - ter marrying Carl, who had voiced nega - tive opinions regarding women artists in general in several contexts. Karin found other outlets for her creativity, however. She played an important part in designing the unique interiors of the family home, which grew into their joint artistic project. It comprised not only the interior design but an approach to family life and various lifestyle choices. One particular theme in the exhibition concerned Carl’s many portraits of Karin (Fig. P). Despite his success, Carl Larsson occa - Fig. P Carl Larsson ( NURP ÓNVNV ), Azalea , NVMS . Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm, inv.no. ORNK sionally encountered obstacles, for instance in connection with the commissions he re - ceived for public embellishments, such as the one for the Nationalmuseum staircase. Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume OM OMNP VU ÉñÜáÄáíáçåëLÅ~êä ä~êëëçåW ÑêáÉåÇë C ÉåÉãáÉë A conservative establishment headed by King Oscar II were opposed to his art, while some of his politically radical artist friends found him too right-wing. The exhibition included several sketches for Carl Larsson’s commission for the Nationalmuseum. Os - car II was represented by a portrait painted by Oscar Björck. Carl Larsson’s success was based partly on the support of a small group of patrons who bought his art at exhibitions and com - missioned new works. Portraits of the more important of these patrons featured in the exhibition. At the time of Larsson’s break - through, the merchant and art collector Pontus Fürstenberg and his wife Göthilda were undoubtedly his most important pa - trons. Later, they were joined by the banker Ernest Thiel and Prince Eugen. The exhibition comprised some NOM works, almost NMM of which were by Carl Larsson. Other artists who were represented included Julia Beck, Hugo Birger, Oscar Björck, Eva Bonnier, Per Hasselberg, Ernst Josephson, Karl Nordström, Hanna Pauli, Georg Pauli and Anders Zorn. The Na - tionalmuseum’s own collection of Swedish fin de siècle art and works by Carl Larsson was complemented by loans of key works from several other Swedish and Nordic mu - seums and private collections in Sweden. The exhibition had SNISPP visitors and was accompanied by a richly-illustrated cata - logue in Swedish, English and German, with essays by Martin Olin, Görel Cavalli-Björk - man, Torsten Gunnarsson and Per I. Gedin. Exhibition curator Martin Olin Exhibition design Henrik Widenheim Lighting design Ljusdesign AB Exhibition technology and installation The Technical Department at Nationalmuseum, under the supervision of Lennart Karlsson Interior from the exhibition Carl Larsson: Friends & Enemies. CAD manager Joakim E. Werning Chief conservators Helen Evans, Lena Dahlén and Maria Franzon VV Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume OM OMNP ÉñÜáÄáíáçåëLÅ~êä ä~êëëçåW ÑêáÉåÇë C ÉåÉãáÉë Exhibition administration Anneli Carlsson Exhibition coordinator Lena Granath Project manager Erik Järmens Education officer Helen Hallgren Archer Exhibition catalogue Carl Larsson: Friends & Enemies (English edition); Carl Larsson: Freunde & Feinde (German edition); Carl Larsson: Vänner & ovänner (Swedish edition) Nationalmusei utställningskatalog nr SSV (Nationalmuseum exhibition catalogue no. SSV ) Editorial committee: Martin Olin, Anne Dahlström and Ingrid Lindell Graphic design: BankerWessel ISBN: (English edition) VTUJVNJTNMMJUQQJO ISBN: (German edition) VTUJVNJTNMMJUQRJV ISBN: (Swedish edition) VTUJVNJTNMMJUQPJR Interiors from the exhibition Carl Larsson: Friends & Enemies. Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm Volume OM OMNP NMM.