Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

THE MAGAZINE EXPLORING
A princely collection in Stockholm
Overlooking a wooded estate in the
heart of Stockholm on the shores of
the Baltic, the Waldemarsudde
Museum was designed as a temple
of art by Prince Eugen of Sweden.
In the first few pages of Kaputt, written in the
Forties, Malaparte describes the narrator's long
meeting with the Prince of Sweden. Dusk is falling
slowly over Waldemarsudde, the majestic mansion
where the son of Oscar II lives. Cool shadows creep
over the wooded island of Djurgården, facing the
salt waters of the Baltic around Stockholm, even
dimming the contours of the lush gardens and
Rodin's “Le Penseur” within them. We are in the
middle of the Second World War and while the
world is in turmoil, the narrator, who has seen his
share of horrors, can take in a welcome breath of
oxygen in this unspoiled environment. Prince
Eugen had the Waldemarsudde built at the end of
the 19th century under the supervision of Ferdinand
Boberg, the architect of the Stockholm central
post office and the Swedish pavilion in the Paris
Universal Exhibition of 1900. The Prince moved in
during 1905, living there until his death in 1947. The
following year, in accordance with his last wishes,
the mansion was opened to the public as a
museum, virtually without any changes. At the time,
this donation of works of art by their former owner
was unrivalled in the history of Sweden, and represented
the largest collection in the kingdom after
Stockholm's Nationalmuseum and Göteborg's
Konstmuseum. The patron of several contemporary
artists he knew well, and a great collector, Prince
Eugen built up such a huge collection that his
130 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 19
house was no longer big enough, so he had a
special gallery built in 1913 that he opened to the
public from time to time. This contains major paintings
by Richard Bergh, Eugen Jansson and Anders
Zorn, a great specialist in women's portraits,
notably present with one of Queen Sophia of
Sweden. We also find Per Ekström, Georg Pauli,
August Strindberg and Ernst Josephson, whose
works include "Strömkarlen" (The Water Sprite) of
1884, probably his most famous painting, showing
an Adonis-like violin player in the waves. Prince
Eugen's collection represents the very source of
Scandinavian art. Himself a tainted landscape
painter, the Prince understood and appreciated his
artist friends, whom he frequently supported by
buying their works. As you go through the rooms
you find several of the Prince's paintings, like the
iconic "Det gamla slotted" (The Old Castle) and
"Molnet" (The Cloud). His Symbolism-imbued work
includes numerous pictures of mysterious Nordic
forests. This magical atmosphere continues
unabated in the elegant saloons with their sculptures
by Carl Milles, a major figure in Sweden,
whose works are also dotted around the gardens. In
the saloons, from which you can see the calms
waters of Stockholm, when the garden dims to blue
in the evening, you fancy you can still see a slim, silkclad
figure passing by: the old aristocrat who made
such a success of his double life as patron and artist.
Alexandre Crochet
I
Waldemarsudde, Prins Eugen väg 6, Djurgården, Stockholm,
Sweden www.waldemarsudde.com
W