When we first planed our move to Stockholm, I thought we’d be visiting a lot of the museums and cultural amenities in the city. When we lived in Gavle it was so great to come to Stockholm during the offseason and really spend some time in non-crowded museums. Most of the museums have really nice cafes, and lots of them are free, which makes it easy to have a short visit, on your way to something else, or just to drop in for a coffee and to see your favourite painting. Of course, during the pandemic pre-vaccine times it didn’t seem like a good idea to be crowding into a museum with lots of other people, but even when museums opened back up and case rates were low, we did not visit as many or as often as I had pictured, though we did enjoy the free Naturhistoriskamuset, Stadsmuset, and the Midieval museum. I have had vague plans to make repeat visits and also visit some new ones: the Nationalmuseet (Royal Art museum with a focus on European art), Ethnografiskamuset (Anthropology and global cultural museum), and Historiskamuset (History Museum).
Unfortunately, along with many other unhappy changes due to the most recent change in governing party, museums will no longer be free in the new year. I have paid to see the Vasa and Nordiska museums, enjoyed them both and would pay to see them again. But the ability to rationalize a short trip to a museum, to visit the gift shop and the cafe, to drag Graham along to see a few art pieces I think he would like (when he is NOT up for looking through a whole art museum)… that is a bit of a loss for the city.
On hearing the news at the start of December, I thought I would prioritize museum visits for the 4 Sundays in advent. It is a nice motivation to get out during a dark month and to see the Christmas lights in Stockholm without it needing to be about shopping. Even when it is cold and icy out it is cozy in the museums, and because everyone is doing Christmas shopping and parties, the museums are not that full.
My first stop was the Nationalmuseet to see art (Graham was in Odense this Sunday!) I have walked by the outside several times, and even paused to take photos this summer after Ai Weiwei’s ‘The Arch’ was installed.
Ony the Louvre is the Louvre, but this is a nice museum. Immediately in the main foyer upstairs there are two giant murals by Carl Larssen: Midvinter blot (the pagan-themed midwinter sacrifice) and Gustav vasa intåg i Stockholm (a summer-themed procession of the king Gustav Vasa riding a white horse into the city).
Lucky for me, the day I went was mixed media culture day, and there was live chamber music, ballet soloists, and poetry readings in the galleries and atria. There are many collections, including some Dutch masters (which I really like) and also a great collection of classic and modern Scandinavian Artists. One of the more popular recent acquisitions is the largest piece in a multi-frame collection by Bruno Liljefors called ‘Katt på blomsteräng’ (the cat in the flower meadow). Painted in 1887, it is a bit of a fusion, combining japanese nature composition (off-centre subject, asymmetry) with a less stylized rendering of plants and animals. This spotted kitty is now available as a magnet, a cookie tray, an umbrella, a reusable shopping bag….
