Following a major five-year transformation project, Nationalmuseum – the Swedish Museum of Fine Arts and Design in Stockholm – re-opened to the public on 13 October 2018. Larger display spaces across three floors of the newly renovated building showcase more than 5,000 artworks from the world class collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, portrait photography, ceramics and applied arts ranging from the 16th century to the present day. A new sculpture courtyard, restaurant and creative workshops will also be unveiled along with temporary exhibitions including a survey of work by the artist John Singer Sargent.

The New Building
The renovation project by two leading Scandinavian architecture practices – Wingårdhs and Wikerstål Arkitekter – has created a modern, visitor-friendly museum environment better equipped for the display of art on both a large and a small scale while preserving the integrity of the museum’s architectural heritage.

Two original courtyards have been reopened for public use, creating space for a striking new elevator tower to improve accessibility and a sculpture courtyard where visitors can enjoy works from the collection. The converted courtyards and entrance hall have been merged into one open, welcoming space and a new restaurant created by a team of more than 30 designers features original interiors, bespoke dinnerware and a menu by celebrity Swedish head chef Fredrik Eriksson.

The visitor experience has been improved by opening more than 300 windows in the building, the majority of which have been shuttered since the 1930s, to create light-filled spaces controlled by a new lighting system sensitive to changes in daylight. New York-based Joel Sanders Architect, together with two exhibition designers based in Sweden, Henrik Widenheim and Albert France-Lanord, have created an interior design to enhance the visitor experience of the art, including a new colour scheme that takes inspiration from the original 1866 designs.

The Collection
Increased display space and a discreet new climate control system allow the newly renovated Nationalmuseum to display more art than ever before. The main visitor route running in a twostory spiral through the museum presents the collection in an integrated, chronological way with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Renoir, Goya, Canaletto, and Leyster shown alongside prominent Nordic artists including Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson, Anna Boberg, Alexander Roslin and Christen Købke. Climate-sensitive works such as drawings and prints are displayed alongside applied art and design, tying together different art historical narratives.

In the newly installed Treasury, more than a thousand small objects of major significance are on display, including 600 portrait miniatures from the Nationalmuseum’s collection – the largest in the world – ranging from Nicholas Hilliard’s depiction of Queen Elizabeth I to the great Mughal Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir. A new jewelry display also allows visitors to study the extensive contemporary and historical collection, including many recent acquisitions.

An exhibition in the Children’s Gallery is designed to inspire younger minds. The museum’s history is the common thread, with original artefacts from all eras hidden behind doors and in cupboards and woven into a story that draws visitors into the museum and out into the world. There are also two creative studios where children and adults alike can produce their own work inspired by the displays.

Temporary Exhibitions
For the first time in the Nordic region, Nationalmuseum will host an exhibition of paintings by John Singer Sargent (13 October 2018 – 13 January 2019) presented with generous support by the Terra Foundation of American Art. Considered one of the leading portrait painters of his generation, Sargent was a U.S. citizen but lived most of his life in Europe producing work that vividly reflects his cosmopolitan lifestyle at the turn of the 20th century.

Design Stories (13 October 2018 – 17 February 2019) explores current trends in Swedish design, identifying the stories behind the designs of ten prominent designers such as Monica Förster, Monica Wadström and Front.

A presentation by A&E Design (13 October 2018 – 13 January 2019), showcases the work of the design company founded in 1968 that has produced a wide range of ergonomic everyday objects for Swedish and international clients.

About Nationalmuseum
Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s museum of art and design. The collections comprise some 700,000 objects, including older paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art from the late Middle Ages up to the beginning of the 20th Century. The collection of applied art and design spans from the 16th Century to the present day. Nationalmuseum has partnerships with Svenska Dagbladet, the Grand Hôtel Stockholm and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Included in Nationalmuseum’s collection is also the Swedish National Portrait Gallery at Gripsholm Castle, the world’s oldest national portrait gallery. Here, portraits of heads of state are on show alongside prominent public figures such as authors and athletes. The museum collections may also be visited at other royal palaces around Sweden.

Nationalmuseum is a government authority that falls within the remit of the Swedish Ministry of Culture. The mission is to preserve the nation’s cultural heritage, provide knowledge and expertise, and to promote public access to art.

Background on the renovation project
The Nationalmuseum in Stockholm is Sweden’s biggest museum of art and design. Built between 1844 and 1866, it was designed by German architect Friedrich August Stüler, who was also responsible for the Neues Museum in Berlin.

Over the years, the building has been constantly repurposed and adapted to the museum’s changing and growing requirements with layers of modifications building up over many decades. However, the building had never been thoroughly renovated and did not meet modern international standards in terms of safety, climate control, fire safety, working environment and logistics.

The renovation project by Wingårdhs and Wikerstål Arkitekter has taken around five years from closure to public reopening and was commissioned by the National Property Board as developer and property owner.

https://www.nationalmuseum.se/

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Photo/source:

Bruno Ehrs/Nationalmuseum

Anna Danielsson/Nationalmuseum