Nationalmuseum has acquired an oil head study of a boy by Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert dating from the mid-1640s. Probably, the study is a so-called tronie, and the boy depicted was, among others, used as a model for Amor Triumphant Amongst the Emblems of Art, Science and War by the same artist. The new acquisition permits the two closely related works to be reunited in the collections.
Nationalmuseum has added a work by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Singry to its renowned collection of miniatures. With this masterful portrait of the actor Antoine Michaut, the artist was trying to compete with larger-format oil paintings. The acquisition is one of two known replicas and was formerly part of Ernst Holzscheiter’s collection.
A cabinet and two chairs designed by Carl Hörvik have been gifted to Nationalmuseum. These exclusive pieces in a pared-down classical style were exhibited in the Swedish pavilion at the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris as part of a suite of furniture that won the exhibition’s highest accolade.
Anne Vallayer-Coster’s Portrait of a Violinist is the latest addition to Nationalmuseum’s collection of 18th-century French painting. Considered one of the artist’s masterpieces, this genre work is believed to portray one of her sisters. Painted in 1773, three years after Vallayer was elected to the French academy of art, the work has many artistic virtues.
Nationalmuseum has added a rug designed by Gustaf Fjaestad to its collection of 20th-century Swedish textiles. The rug, featuring a motif with the title Goshawk, was woven by the artist’s sisters, Anna and Amelie Fjaestad, in 1927. Gustaf Fjaestad, a member of the National Romantic school, was noted for his skill in combining acute observations of nature with ornamental design.
Nationalmuseum has acquired View of Vesuvius from Villa Quisisana, one of the few Italian landscapes by Johan Christian Dahl (1788–1857) still in private hands. The newly acquired painting is an important document from a particularly significant period in Dahl’s life.
Thanks to a generous donation by the photographer Hans Gedda, Nationalmuseum has acquired an extensive collection of photographic portraits by Rolf Winquist. The donation comprises a mixture of exhibition-quality material and test shots. They show Winquist’s technical mastery and his artistic eye, which brought the individual character of the models into relief.
To add to its collection of paintings from the Danish Golden Age, Nationalmuseum has acquired a portrait by Christen Købke of the artist’s nephew, Johan Jacob Krohn, at the age of five. Painted in 1846, the portrait is one of the artist’s most sensitive, successfully capturing the child’s personality.
Nationalmuseum has acquired two watercolour paintings showing two different sides of the publicly loved artist Ivar Arosenius. Evil Powers is a jocular personification of evil, depicting a she-dragon with her young. The second work is a sketch for a fairytale series entitled The Caliph’s Golden Bird.Over the years, Nationalmuseum has continuously added works by this artist to its collection.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a magnificent English cabinet in imitation lacquer. Manufactured circa 1680, the cabinet had been part of the Biby estate collection since 1788. Nationalmuseum purchased the piece at last summer’s auction of items from the Biby estate.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a work by Domenico Fetti, one of the truly important Italian Baroque painters. The painting comes from a Swedisg collection and has not been shown to the public since 1963. Several details strongly suggest that this was the first of the two known closely related versions of this composition, something that upcoming art technological studies will tell.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a French tapestry from the18th century depicting an allegory of the month of October. It was originally one of a twelve-piece series presented to Eric Sparre on his departure as ambassador in France in 1717. The acquisition means that two of the original twelve tapestries are now back in Sweden.
