Nationalmuseum is the

national gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula

Blasieholmen Blasieholmen is a peninsula in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located east of Kungsträdgården. Originally a small island, named Käpplingen, it became a peninsula, connected to Norrmalm, during the 17th century. Among the buildings at Blasi ...

in central

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

collection at Gripshom, the

Gustavsberg porcelain Gustavsberg is a Swedish porcelain company that originated in 1826.Helena Dahlbäck Lutteman. ''Svenskt Porslin 1700-1900'' It broke up in the 1990s and was sold off in pieces, to the dismay of residents of the Gustavsberg area, but artisans con ...

museum, several castle collections and the Swedish Institute in Paris (

Institut Tessin The Institut Tessin, also known as the Centre culturel suédois, is a museum in Paris dedicated to the history of Franco-Swedish artistic exchanges. It is located in the Hôtel de Marle at 11, rue Payenne in the city's 3rd arrondissement of Paris, ...

). In the summer of 2018, Nationalmuseum Jamtli opened in

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

to exhibit parts of the collection in the north of Sweden. The museum's benefactors include King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...

and

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...

. It was founded in 1792 as (Royal Museum). The present building was opened in 1866, when it was renamed the Nationalmuseum, and was among the buildings that hosted the 1866 General Industrial Exposition of Stockholm. The current building, built between 1844 and 1866, was inspired by northern

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

architecture. It is the design of the German architect

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

, who also designed the

Neues Museum The Neues Museum (, ''New Museum'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Built from 1843 to 1855 by order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia in Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival styles, ...

in Berlin. Despite its relatively closed exterior, the building has a spacious interior dominated by a large flight of stairs leading to the topmost galleries. The museum was enlarged in 1961 to accommodate the museum workshops, and the museum's current restaurant was opened in 1996. The building closed for renovation in 2013 and reopened on 13 October 2018. The $132 million overhaul was undertaken to allow for more of the museum's collection to be displayed and to deliver the security, accessibility, fire safety and climate control of a modern institution.

History

The museum's early history

As with several other European national galleries, the history of the Nationalmuseum involves a transition in ownership from royalty to the state, and by extension publicly available collections. In Sweden, the foundation was laid for today's state art collections in the 18th century. Several of the works included in the Nationalmuseum collection, such as its 18th-century French paintings, were once owned by Queen Lovisa Ulrika. In 1777, the queen's financial situation became unsustainable, partly the result of her ambitious and expensive pursuit of art. The debts were settled by her son King

when she agreed to surrender her collections and

Drottningholm Palace Drottningholm Palace (), or Drottningholm, one of Sweden's royal palaces, situated near Sweden's capital Stockholm, is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Located on Lovön island in Stockholm County's Ekerö Municipalit ...

. For some time, King

stored the art collections in one of the wings at the Royal Palace, which later resulted in a need for a building dedicated to the collection.

Construction of a museum building

The project to construct a royal museum in Stockholm was one of the largest and most lavish construction works of all time, taking 12 years to complete with another three years for the interior work. The German architect

was responsible for the design of the building and the Swedish architect

Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander (June 23, 1816 – May 9, 1881) was a Swedish architect and artist. Biography Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of Georg Fredrik Scholander (1785–1825) and Karin Nyström (178 ...

was responsible for the interior design. Originally, the building was intended to function as a cultural center, housing a library, auditorium, the Royal Armoury, and wardrobe collections, while only the top floor would display sculptures and paintings. In the end, however, the building primarily became a venue for the exhibition of visual art. Nationalmuseum was inaugurated in 1866 in conjunction with the General Industrial Exposition of Stockholm. The building consisted of three floors with a façade cladding in Swedish

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. Perhaps the most impressive feature at the time was the large glass sections, which had been manufactured in a German factory. In the early years, the exhibition halls of Nationalmuseum were not heated; visitors simply had to keep their outerwear on. Until 1915, the museum lacked toilets, and electricity was not installed until 1931.

2010s renovation

In 2009, the

National Property Board of Sweden The National Property Board of Sweden (, SFV) is a Swedish State administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Finance. SFV is responsible for managing a portion of the real property assets owned by the State. The portfolio consists ...

(SFV) was commissioned to perform a feasibility study for a renovation and refurbishment project, and the group presented a building program to the government in 2011. In 2012, planning began for the renovation and rebuilding project, and in February 2013, the Nationalmuseum began its evacuation of the building. On 20 February 2014, the SFV was commissioned by the government to perform a renovation and conversion of the Nationalmuseum into a fully modern museum building. During the renovation, the building was closed to the public, but the Nationalmuseum continued to exhibit its collection in other locations in Sweden and abroad. There were many reasons for the renovation, but primarily, it was because the building had become outdated and no longer met requirements for safety and climate control. For example, parts of the limestone had become damaged and needed replacement. As for safety, the distance between the balusters in the entrance staircase did not meet todays Swedish requirements of a maximum of 10 cm. Most importantly, the indoor climate had become unsustainable for its purpose: exhibiting artworks. Today, specific standards for temperature and humidity must be met to ensure the preservation of art. The building did not fulfill these requirements, and in later years, windows had to be sealed off to protect paintings from harmful solar radiation. In addition, there were significant heat losses due to poor insulation in the roof and windows, and the building lacked adequate ventilation. The only architectural addition made was two objects: an elevator tower placed in the southern atrium, which was considered the most appropriate location as it had the least impact on the building, along with a service building designed in the same architectural style, located behind the museum. One of the architects involved in the project, Erik Wikerstål from Tengbom architects, notes that the woven metal cladding used is an old traditional technique in Swedish craftsmanship. The museum was reinaugurated on 13 October 2018 by King Carl XVI Gustaf in the presence of other members of the royal family, minister of culture

Alice Bah Kuhnke Alice Bah Kuhnke ( Bah; 21 December 1971) is a Swedish politician for the Green Party who is currently a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. Previously she served as the Minister of Culture and Democracy From October 2014 to January ...

and over thousand visitors. The museum's exhibition space has been expanded and can now receive twice as many visitors and display almost three times as many works than had been possible before the renovation. Previously clogged windows and ceiling lanterns have been modified to create more daylight and views of the city. The noisy restaurant has been moved to a quieter location, with an airy and quiet sculpture courtyard in its former place. The museum has regained a rich color scheme inspired by the original colour palette.

Legal framework

Nationalmuseum is located in central Stockholm, which is classified as a ''national interest for cultural heritage conservation'' (swe. riksintresse för kulturmiljövården) under Ordinance (1998:808). The justification for including central Stockholm in this law is about the city's function as an administrative and political center since the Middle Ages, with all eras since then up until today represented in the architecture, as well as the strategic geographical location for trade, communication and defense. Since 1935, Nationalmuseum has been a ''State-Owned Listed Building of National Heritage Significance'' (swe. statligt byggnadsminne) under Ordinance (2013:558). This means that the ''

Swedish National Heritage Board The Swedish National Heritage Board (; RAÄ) is a Swedish government agency responsible for World Heritage Sites and other national heritage monuments and historical environments. It is governed by the Ministry of Culture. The goals of the agen ...

'' (swe. Riksantikvarieämbetet) determines specific protective regulations for buildings, with the aim of preserving its character and cultural-historical value without distortion. The authority managing the property, in this case the ''

'' (swe. Statens Fastighetsverk), is then responsible for adhering to these guidelines. In parallel, the operations of Nationalmuseum are governed by Ordinance (2007:1175) containing ''Instructions for Nationalmuseum'', which means that the building must accommodate functions such as exhibitions, conservation, and research.

Collection

The museum collection consists of approximately 500,000 drawings from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to 1900, a prominent 17th-century collection of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

and other

Dutch painters Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and collections of porcelain items, paintings, sculptures and modern art. In total, the collection consists of approximately 700,000 objects. The museum also has an art library that is open to the public and academics. Nationalmuseum holds the largest collection of

portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

s in the world, with more than 5,200 works. The collection features miniatures from many European schools, including works by

Nicholas Hilliard Nicholas Hilliard ( – before 7 January 1619) was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some l ...

Isaac Oliver Isaac Oliver ( – bur. 2 October 1617) or Olivier was an English portrait miniature painter. Life and work Born in Rouen around 1565, he moved to London in 1568 with his Huguenot parents Peter and Epiphany Oliver to escape the Wars of Reli ...

and Louis-Marie Autissier. A significant portion of the collection derives from the master collector , while the more exclusive works were donated by Hjalmar Wicander, a cork-factory owner. Wicander also donated funds for additional purchases of miniatures.

Notable works

File:Pietro Perugino - St Sebastian - WGA17313.jpg,

Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...

, ''St. Sebastian'' File:The Lawyer, possibly Ulrich Zasius, 1461-1536, humanist, jurist (Giuseppe Arcimboldo) - Nationalmuseum - 15897.tif,

Giuseppe Arcimboldo Giuseppe Arcimboldo, also spelled Arcimboldi (; 5 April 1527 – 11 July 1593), was an Italian Renaissance painter best known for creating imaginative portrait Human head, heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish ...

, ''

The Lawyer ''The Lawyer'' is a legal business information product for law firm leaders, commercial lawyers, barristers A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advoc ...

'', possibly

Ulrich Zasius Ulrich Zasius (1461 – 24 November 1535 or 1536) was a German jurist. Biography Zasius was born at Konstanz (current Baden-Württemberg) in 1461. After studying at Tübingen he first became episcopal notary at Constance, then town clerk at ...

(1461-1536) File:Manlius Torquatus Fighting a Gaul.jpg, Ludwig Refinger, ''Manlius Torquatus Fighting a Gaul'' File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - "The Kitchen Maid" - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''The Kitchen Maid'' File:Rembrandt Simeon’s Song of Praise.jpg,

, ''Simeon's Song of Praise'' File:Joos de Momper IcarusFXD.jpg,

Joos de Momper Joos de Momper the Younger or Joost de Momper the Younger (1564February5, 1635) was a Flemish landscape painter active in Antwerp between the late 16th century and the early 17th century. Brueghel's influence is clearly evident in many of de Momp ...

, ''Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'' File:The Holy Family by Candlelight (Jacob Jordaens) - Nationalmuseum - 18772.tif,

Jacob Jordaens Jacques (Jacob) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678Jacques Jordaens
in the Netherlands Institute for Ar ...

, ''The Holy Family by Candlelight'' File:Boy playing the Flute (Judith Leyster) - Nationalmuseum - 18123.tif,

Judith Leyster Judith Jans Leyster (also Leijster; baptised July 28, 1609Molenaer, JudithNational Gallery of Art website. Accessed February 1, 2014. – February 10, 1660) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works, portraits, and still lifes. Her work wa ...

, ''Boy Playing the Flute'' File:Marble busts in Room 1280, the Sculpture Courtyard. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden.jpg, Marble busts in the sculpture courtyard File:Antoine Watteau - The Love Lesson - Google Art Project.jpg,

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised 10 October 1684died 18 July 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French Painting, painter and Drawing, draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour ...

, ''The Love Lesson'', -1717 File:Rabbit and Copper Pot (Jean Siméon Chardin) - Nationalmuseum - 17788.tif,

Jean Siméon Chardin Jean Siméon Chardin (; November 2, 1699 – December 6, 1779) was an 18th-century France, French List of painters, painter. He is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre works, genre paintings which depict kitch ...

, ''Rabbit and Copper Pot'' File:François Boucher - The Triumph of Venus - Google Art Project.jpg,

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

, '' The Triumph of Venus'' File:The Lady with the Veil (the Artist's Wife) (Alexander Roslin) - Nationalmuseum - 21152FXD.jpg,

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (; spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insightful psyc ...

, '' The Lady with the Veil'' File:Marie Antoinette-children-1785-6-Wertmuller.jpg,

Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller (February 18, 1751 – October 5, 1811) was a Swedish painter whose notable works include ''Danaë receiving Jupiter in a Shower of Gold''. Wertmüller was born in Stockholm and studied art at home before moving to Paris i ...

, ''Queen Marie Antoinette of France and two of her Children Walking in The Park of Trianon'', 1785 File:The Cellist (Self-portrait) (Gustave Courbet) - Nationalmuseum - 20159.tif,

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

,''The Cellist (Self-portrait)'', 1847 File:Auguste Renoir - La Grenouillère - Google Art Project.jpg,

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

, ''La grenouillère'' File:Castles in the Air (Anders Zorn) - Nationalmuseum - 24345.tif,

Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish artist who attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. His portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three President of the Un ...

, ''Castles in the Air'', 1885 File:Paul Gauguin Bretagne 1889.JPG,

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

, '' Fields by the Sea'', 1889 File:Hanna Pauli - Frukostdags.JPG,

Hanna Pauli Hanna Hirsch, later Hanna Pauli (Stockholm, 13 January 1864 – 29 December 1940, Solna), was a Swedish painter; primarily of Genre art, genre scenes and portraits. Life Hanna Hirsch was a daughter of music publisher Abraham Hirsch. She was a fr ...

, ''Frukostdags'' File:Still Life with Plaster Cupid (Paul Cézanne) - Nationalmuseum - 19606.tif,

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

, ''Still Life with Plaster Cupid'' File:Interior with a Reading Lady (Vilhelm Hammershøi) - Nationalmuseum - 18752.tif,

Vilhelm Hammershøi Vilhelm Hammershøi (), often anglicised as Vilhelm Hammershoi (15 May 186413 February 1916), was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors. In 1905, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote of the artist, "Hammershøi is no ...

, ''Interior with a Reading Lady'', File:Alexander Roslin - King Gustav III of Sweden and his Brothers - Google Art Project.jpg,

, '' King Gustav III of Sweden and His Brothers'' File:Gustaf Cederström - Bringing Home the Body of King Karl XII of Sweden - Google Art Project.jpg,

Gustaf Cederström Gustaf Olof Cederström (1845-1933) was a Swedish painter who specialized in historical scenes and portraits. Biography His father, (1804-1892) was a naval officer and his mother, Theresine (1815-1873), was an amateur painter. His interest in hi ...

, '' Bringing Home the Body of King Charles XII'' File:Norwegian Mountain Landscape (Johan Christian Dahl) - Nationalmuseum - 19981.tif,

Johan Christian Dahl Johan Christian Claussen Dahl (24 February 178814 October 1857), often known as or , was a Danish- Norwegian artist who is considered the first great romantic painter in Norway, the founder of the "golden age" of Norwegian painting. He is often ...

, ''Norwegian Mountain Landscape''

Drawings

The collection of drawings contains approximately 500,000 sheets spanning the late medieval period to about 1900. The collection includes more than 2,000

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

drawings collected by

. The sheets were acquired at the sale of the court banker

Pierre Crozat Pierre Crozat (1665–1740) was a French financier, art patron and collector at the center of a broad circle of ''cognoscenti''; he was the brother of Antoine Crozat. Biography The brothers Crozat were born in Toulouse, France, the sons of a wea ...

in the summer of 1741. Tessin was one of 14 collectors who bought at bargain prices. Because of financial reasons, the collection was sold to King

Adolf Fredrik Adolf (or Adolph) Frederick (; ; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death in 1771. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach. He was an un ...

. File:Dürer - Bildnis eines jungen Mädchen.jpg,

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

, ''Portrait of a Young Woman with Braided Hair,'' 1515 File:Ghirlandaio.jpg,

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

, ''Head of an Old Man,'' File:Hendrik Goltzius - Self-portrait.jpg,

Hendrick Goltzius Hendrick Goltzius (, ; born Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, lauded for his ...

, ''Self-Portrait,'' –91

References

External links

National Museum of Fine ArtsVirtual tour of the Nationalmuseum
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1866 1792 in art Art museums and galleries established in the 1790s Buildings and structures completed in 1792 Educational organizations established in 1792 Art museums and galleries in Stockholm National museums of Sweden 1792 establishments in Sweden World's fair architecture in Stockholm

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

18th-century establishments in Stockholm