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

Background

Prince Eugen was born at

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 ...

as the fourth and youngest son of Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland. His mother was

Sophia of Nassau Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette; 9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913), also Sofia, was List of Swedish consorts, Queen of Sweden and List of Norwegian consorts, Norway as the wife of King Oscar II. She was Queen of Sweden ...

. 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 Prince Eugene's Waldemarsudde () is a museum located on Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was formerly the home of Prince Eugen (1865-1947), a Swedish prince, painter and art collector. The museum houses Prince Eugen's extensive art col ...

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 (town), Elverum, Hedmark – 15 January 1929 in Lysaker, Bærum Municipality, Bærum) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Background Munthe was born in Elverum (town), Elverum to physicia ...

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

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

between Norway and Sweden was broken by the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

. 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 distinguished ...

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 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to conscio ...

, 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 Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

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

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

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 Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Ro ...

and Wilhelm von Gegerfelt. 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, art collector and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 ...

Alfred Philippe Roll Alfred Philippe Roll (1 March 1846 – 27 October 1919) was a French painter. Career Roll studied at École des Beaux-Arts, where he was taught by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Henri-Joseph Harpignies, Charles-François Daubigny and Léon Bonnat. He ...

Henri Gervex Henri Gervex (10 December 1852 – 7 June 1929) 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 Nicolas Gerve ...

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 Beaux-Ar ...

. When he arrived, the Finnish artist

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish Painting, painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realism (arts), Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visib ...

became his

cicerone Cicerone ( ) is an old term for a guide who conducts visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest. The word is presumably taken from Marcus Tullius Cicero, ...

in the studios and at the exhibitions in Paris - a close friendship between Eugene and Edelfelt arose. 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 in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

, 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 and its greatest depth is 64 m (210 ft). Mälaren spans from east to west. The l ...

, the countryside of

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 ...

(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. Vä ...

(most notably Örgården, another summer residence) and

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

(especially

Österlen Österlen ()) is a region in the southeast of the Swedish province of Scania (Skåne). Historically, the region was shared between the counties of Kristianstad County, Kristianstad and Malmöhus County, Malmöhus for a small part in the southwest ...

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 is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

, 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 Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It bo ...

from the surrounding fields'' File:Östermalms Gymnasium 2011d.jpg, Östra Reals gymnasium File:KirunaKirche-08.jpg,

Kiruna Church Kiruna Church (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kiruna kyrka'') is a Church (building), church building in Kiruna, Sweden, and is one of Sweden's largest wooden buildings. The church was built between 1909 and 1912, designed by the architect Gustaf Wi ...

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

, in

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , 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 Skansen, the small resident ...

, in 1899 and had a residence built there within a few years. After his death at

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 Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

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 The Royal Order of Charles XIII () is a Swedish order (honour), order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII of Sweden, Charles XIII in 1811. Membership The Lord and Master of the Order is the Monarch, King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gust ...

, ''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 founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

, ''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 Swedish male artists Swedish male painters 20th-century Swedish painters 20th-century Swedish male artists Swedish art collectors 1865 births 1947 deaths LGBTQ 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 Commanders Grand Cross 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 19th-century Swedish LGBTQ people 20th-century Swedish LGBTQ people LGBTQ Lutherans