Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
byRembrandtandRubens,afinegroupofImpressionistworks,andasizeable
collection of Russian icons. Seek out the exquisite paintings by the Swedish
artists Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson. It's unclear exactly which items will be
on display at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts; if you visit, look for
the following:
The Stockholm-born
Carl Larsson
(1853-1919) became very popular as
the Swedish Norman Rockwell, chronicling the everyday family life of his
own wife and brood of kids. If his two vast, 900-square-foot murals celebrat-
ing Swedish history are on display, they're worth a close look.
The Return of
the King
shows Gustav Vasa astride a white horse. After escaping the Stock-
holm Bloodbath and leading Sweden's revolt, he drove out the Danes and
was elected Sweden's first king (1523). Now he marches his victorious troops
acrossadrawbridge,asStockholm'sburghersbowandwelcomehimhome.In
The Midwinter Sacrifice,
it's solstice eve, and Vikings are gathered at the pa-
gan temple at Gamla Uppsala. Musicians blow the
lur
horns, a priest in white
raises the ceremonial hammer of Thor, and another priest in red (with his back
to us) holds a sacrificial knife. The Viking king arrives on his golden sled,
rises from his throne, strips naked, gazes to the heavens, and prepares to sacri-
fice himself to the gods of winter, so that spring will return to feed his starving
people.
The museum also has an excellent collection that walks you through the
evolution of modern Swedish design: gracefully engraved glass from the
1920s, works from the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930, industrial design of the
1940s, Scandinavian Design movement of the 1950s, plastic chairs from the
1960s,modern furniture fromthe 1980s,andthe Swedish newsimplicity from
the 1990s.
Museum of Modern Art (Moderna Museet)
—This bright, cheery gallery
on Skeppsholmen island is as far out as can be, with Picasso, Braque, Dalí,
Matisse, and lots of goofy Dada art (such as
Urinal
), as well as more con-
temporary stuff. Don't miss the beloved
Goat with Tire.
The excellent and
included audioguide makes modern art meaningful to visitors who wouldn't
otherwise appreciate it.
