Enfilade

Published in November by the Nationalmuseum, with a selection of eighteenth-century topics listed below:

The Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm is a journal devoted to art history. It is published in English twice a year with a content that ranges from older master paintings to contemporary design. This, the first part of Volume 27, focuses primarily on acquisitions in 2020. The journal is published through DiVA (a publishing system for research publications and student essays and a digital archive for long-term preservation of publications), with all articles available for free download here.

Editors: Ludvig Florén, Magnus Olausson, and Martin Olin.
Editorial Committee: Ludvig Florén, Carina Fryklund, Eva-Lena Karlsson, Helena Kåberg, Ingrid Lindell, Magnus Olausson, Martin Olin, Daniel Prytz, and Cilla Robach.

A R T I C L E S

Magnus Olausson and Martin Olin, “Two Large Covered Beakers with Filigree Ornamentation by Rudolf Wittkopf.”

The two filigree beakers with covers in silver gilt, made by Rudolf Wittkopf (d. 1722) in Stockholm in 1698, are not only notable examples of Swedish goldsmiths’ work from the end of the 17th century, their history also tells of a dramatic diplomatic episode in the history of relations between Sweden and Russia. The beakers were among the presents given to Tsar Peter I by the ambassadors of the Swedish king Charles XII, in the autumn of 1699.

Daniel Prytz, “A Seated Amour: A Drawing by Charles-Joseph Natoire Related to his Painting Apollo and Clytie for the Royal Palace in Stockholm.”

A drawing of a seated Amour by Charles-Joseph Natoire (1700–1777), recently acquired by the Nationalmuseum, can be said to underline the central role of the art of drawing in his oeuvre. In the present article it is posited that it was created as a finished work onto itself and should be viewed as an example of the possibilities Natoire found primarily in drawing.

Daniel Prytz, “The Vatican from the Road to Ponte Mola: A Drawing by the Amateur Artist and Patron of the Arts Sir George Howland Beaumont.”

Sir George Howland Beaumont (1753–1827) was one of the most prominent British amateur artists and important patrons of the arts of his time. The present article concerns a formerly anonymous 18th-century drawing acquired by the Nationalmuseum, here decisively attributed to Beaumont. The work is a concrete example of the artistic output of this influential judge of taste and perfectly reflects both his position in society and his artistic connoisseurship.

Micael Ernstell, “A Writing Bureau from Magistrate Asplind’s Workshop: A Gift from a Friend.”

A writing bureau dating from 1810–20 by the ornamental painter Johan Nils Asplind (1756–1820), has been generously donated to the Nationalmuseum by Margareta Leijonhufvud through the Friends of the Nationalmuseum. Asplind was active in Falun between 1779 and 1820. He produced ornamental paintings for various manor houses and on furniture he ordered from local cabinetmakers, to which he selected suitable designs from a range of originals. The writing bureau has united the influences of Chinese lacquerwork, the painting of the French rococo, and Gustavian furniture design.

Magnus Olausson, “In the Shadow of Horace Vernet: A Swedish Artist in 1820s Paris.”

This article is about the Swedish artist Alexander Clemens Wetterling’s (1796–1858) encounter with the art and artists of Paris in 1826–27. It introduces us to artistic training in the city, to important networks, and to Wetterling’s take on the struggle between Classicists and Romantics at the famous Salon of 1827. The article is based on a combined reading of Wetterling’s letters and several of the study drawings by him from his stay in Paris, recently acquired by the Nationalmuseum.

Daniel Prytz, “Shepherd Playing his Flute: A Proposed Attribution of a Painting Long in the Collections of the Nationalmuseum to Bernhard Keilhau, Called Monsù Bernardo.”

Bernhard Keilhau (1624–1687) must surely be viewed as one of the foremost artists hailing from Scandinavia, from any century. However, he is largely unknown in Sweden and there are no previous works in the collections of the Nationalmuseum attributed to this artist. The present article concerns a proposed attribution to Keilhau of a work long in the collections of the Museum and with the provenance of the Marshall of the Royal Court Martin von Wahrendorff (1789–1861).

Stephen Lloyd, “A Double-Sided Portrait Miniature Attributed to Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823).”

A striking and meticulously painted double-sided portrait miniature of an older man on one side and a younger man on the other side was gifted by the collector Consul Hjalmar Wicander to the Nationalmuseum in 1927 as being a work from the later 18th-century English School. By careful comparison with a small group of other miniatures and drawings this double-portrait is now presented as a significant work from the 1780s Scottish School and indeed a significant youthful achievement from the early career in Edinburgh of the great Enlightenment portraitist in oils, Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823).