Prince Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke (1 August 1865 – 17 August 1947) was a Swedish painter, art collector, and patron of artists.

Background

Prince Eugen was born at Drottningholm Palace as the fourth and youngest son of Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland. His mother was Sophia of Nassau. The newborn prince was granted the title of Duke of Närke. Upon his father's accession to the thrones of Sweden and Norway as King Oscar II, the Duke of Närke became fourth in line to the throne. Showing early artistic promise, he studied in Paris, and went on to become one of Sweden's most prominent landscape painters. Throughout his life Prince Eugen was a supporter of fellow artists, and also involved in many cultural organisations and committees. A homosexual bachelor, he bequeathed his villa Waldemarsudde at Djurgården in Stockholm, and its collections, to the nation. It is now one of Sweden's most popular museums.

Norway

The Duke of Närke was a great admirer of Norwegian nature and frequently visited Christiania (later known as Oslo). His letters show that he preferred its artistic milieu to the more constrained Stockholm one. His most notable Norwegian friends were the painters Erik Werenskiold and

Gerhard Munthe Gerhard Peter Frantz Munthe (19 July 1849 in Elverum, Hedmark – 15 January 1929 in Lysaker, Bærum) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Background Munthe was born in Elverum to physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884) and his ...

; he remained attached to them and to Norway until his death. In 1905, the

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...

between Norway and Sweden was broken by the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

. The writer

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguishe ...

mentioned the possible candidature of Prince Eugen for the throne of Norway. Another writer,

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective ...

, had suggested the Prince as a suitable candidate already in 1893. His father, however, refused to allow any of his sons to ascend the Norwegian throne. Prince Eugen was the only Swede represented at an exhibition in Oslo in 1904. The explanation was that he was a prince of Norway until 1905 and that his relations with the Norwegian artists caused him to be seen as Norwegian until the dissolution of the union.

Art

After finishing high school, Prince Eugen studied

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. Although supported by his parents, Prince Eugen did not make the decision to pursue a career in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

easily, not least because of his royal status. He was very open-minded and interested in the radical tendencies of the 1880s. He was first trained in painting by Hans Gude and

Wilhelm von Gegerfelt Wilhelm von Gegerfelt, also Vilhelm von Gegerfelt, (9 November 1844 – 2 April 1920) was a Swedish painter. Biography Born in Gothenburg, Gegerfelt was the son the architect Victor von Gegerfelt (1817–1915). From 1861 to 1863, he studied a ...

. Between 1887 and 1889, he studied in Paris under

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in M ...

Alfred Philippe Roll Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

Henri Gervex Henri Gervex (Paris 10 December 1852 – 7 June 1929 Paris) was a French painter who studied painting under Alexandre Cabanel, Pierre-Nicolas Brisset, and Eugène Fromentin. Biography Early years He was the son of Joséphine Peltier and Félix ...

and

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beau ...

. Puvis de Chavannes's classical simplicity had the greatest influence on Prince Eugen's work. The Duke devoted himself entirely to

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...

, becoming one of the era's most prominent landscape painters. He was mainly interested in the lake

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

, the countryside of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

(such as Tyresö, where he spent his summers),

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

(most notably Örgården, another summer residence) and

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skån ...

(especially Österlen).

Prince Eugen's works

File:Skibe for anker. Vinter.jpg, Painting of an anchored ship File:Prins Eugen - A Summer Night at Tyresö - Google Art Project.jpg, ''A Summer Night at Tyresö''. 1895. 78 × 144 cm.

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manage ...

, Stockholm. File:Prins Eugen - Calm Water - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Calm Water''. 1901. 142 × 178 cm.

, Stockholm. File:Prince Eugén - View of Vadstena from the surrounding fields 1920.jpg, ''View of Vadstena from the surrounding fields'' File:Östermalms Gymnasium 2011d.jpg, Östra Reals gymnasium File:KirunaKirche-08.jpg, Kiruna Church File:Djurgårdskyrkan 2010c.jpg, Djurgård Church File:Waldemarsuddekrukan 2012.jpg, Porcelain flower pot designed by Prince Eugen, popular in Sweden. Prince Eugen Le Vieux Château.jpg, ''The old castle'' (1893) Prins Eugen-the Cloud.jpg, ''The Cloud '' (1927)

Death and legacy

Prince Eugen bought Waldemarsudde, on

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum ...

, in 1899 and had a residence built there within a few years. After his death at Drottningholm Palace on 17 August 1947, the residence became an art museum and, in accordance with his will, property of the state. Eugen never married, in an era when royal princes almost always found princesses to wed. His homosexual orientation was unknown to the general public.

Honours and arms

Honours

National honours * Knight and Commander of the Seraphim, ''1 August 1865'' * Knight of the Order of Charles XIII, ''1 August 1865'' * Commander Grand Cross of the Sword, ''1 August 1865'' * Commander Grand Cross of the Polar Star, ''1 August 1865'' * Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

, ''15 May 1897'' Foreign honours

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugen, Duke Of Narke, Prince Eugen 1865 Norwegian princes Dukes of Närke House of Bernadotte 19th-century Swedish painters 19th-century male artists Swedish male painters 20th-century Swedish painters 20th-century male artists Swedish art collectors 1865 births 1947 deaths LGBT royalty Knights of the Order of Charles XIII Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Grand Crosses of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Norwegian Lion Swedish people of French descent Recipients of the King Haakon VII Freedom Cross Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Artists from Stockholm Swedish Lutherans Swedish Army colonels Art Nouveau painters Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Sons of kings