månadsarkiv: september 2020

Augusta's Friends

6. Sofia Antoinette Eugenia (Eugénie) Björkman

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St Jacob’s Church in the center of Stockholm is a landmark. Built in the 1600s, it has a beautiful red color and a green roof. Today it is famous for its music. I have walked by the church many times, too busy to take the time to sit down and listen to one of its free organ or choir concerts. But on a sunny day in the spring of 2019, I am following in Augusta’s footsteps which leads me to St Jacob’s Church. Almost to the day, 175 years earlier, on 12 May 1844, Augusta received her first communion in this church. She was one of the 166 teenagers (74 boys and 92 girls) who had gone through the bible studies and had passed their oral exam.

St Jacob’s Church, Stockholm

I sit in the pews trying to imagine what it would have been like to see all 16- or 17-year-olds and their families fill the church. In 1844, Abraham Zacharias Petterson was the pastor – a prominent preacher who was in high demand for memorial speeches and sermons. And the organist was Gustaf Mankell who later became a professor and member of the Royal Music Academy. But I don’t think he can top the organist playing today. His final organ piece is Bach’s Tocccata and Fugue in D Minor. It is mind-blowing.

For each parish in Sweden, there is a library of church records – births, baptisms, confirmations, etc. The best place to find Augusta’s friends in Stockholm is to look at the records of confirmations and first communions. Some parishes list them alphabetically but in St Jacob’s parish, Pastor Petterson has listed them first by gender and then by his perception of their importance – based on their family names and their fathers’ professions. Augusta is listed as number 10 out of the 92 girls. I decide to find out more about the first 20 girls on the list.

During the coming weeks, I will share what I have found. Today’s girl is #6 Sofia Antoinette Eugenia Björkman.

Sofia Antoinette Eugenia Björkman

Sofia Antoinette Eugenia went by the name Eugénie. She was born on 8 January 1828 in Sala. Her parents were Axel Ulrik Björkman and Maria Antoinetta Norlin.

Axel Ulrik’s father, Bengt Magnus Björkman, was an industrialist and one of Stockholm’s wealthiest in the early 1800s. He owned several large estates around Stockholm: Nacka, Farsta, Görväln, Skälby, Jakobsberg, and Bromsten. Today, they are all names of Stockholm suburbs.

Eugénie had three younger sisters and two younger brothers. They lived in Stockholm at Regeringsgatan 36. That is where the iconic department store, NK, is located today. But wait, wasn’t there where Augusta’s other friend, AugustaHolmqvist lived? After searching in several different archives, I realize that Björkmans owned the house while the family Holmqvist rented a large apartment in the house. And their next-door neighbors? It was the Salomon family who Augusta also was acquainted with.

The view from Holmqvist's apartment, the corner of Hamngatan and Regeringsgatan
The view from Björkman’s house at the corner of Hamngatan and Regeringsgatan

So while they were living in Stockholm, they also lived at Görväln at times, maybe during the warmer months. The beautiful manor house with its view of Lake Mälaren must have been a lovely place to spend the summers. One of Eugénie’s siblings, Axel Fredrik, was actually born at Görväln on the 13 October 1833. He inherited the manor house when his father died in 1855 and raised his family there.

Görväln – the manor house owned by Sofia’s father and then brother (by Fredrik Wilhelm Alexander Nay, 1822-1883)

Eugénie married Ludvig Teodor Almqvist in 1851. He was a politician, a member of the Supreme Court, and a Minister of Justice. Eugénie and Ludvig had one daughter and four sons. Their daughter, Lina, was born 17 August 1852 at Görväln. She would later marry Erik Gustaf Boström who was the Swedish Prime Minister between 1891 and 1900 and then again between 1902 and 1905.

In 1856, Ludvig Teodor bought Algö, a farm on the island Selaön close to Strängnäs. This is where they lived even though Eugénie had in 1855 inherited a country house, Kallhäll, which she and her husband owned for 19 years.

So, when Eugénie was listed as Number 6 by Pastor Petterson, he knew that she was one of the wealthiest girls in Stockholm. Who were the top 5 girls, and why?

Read more about the family Björkman (in Swedish): http://runeberg.org/millionar/5/0151.html

Marie-Louise Forsell writes about Mamsell Eugénie Björkman in her diary.

Brev och dagböcker, Göta kanal, Kläder

Nattrock – propert klädd hemma 2020 och 1850

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I juli 1850 reste Augusta till Göteborg tillsammans med sin mamma och brodern August. Göta kanalresan har vi tidigare berättat om. I väntan på att August skulle resa med briggen Mimer till Sydafrika, gjorde syskonen en utflykt längs Västkusten upp till Marstrand och Strömstad för att träffa vänner som tillbringade sina juliveckor med badliv på de fashionabla badorterna.

Men innan de reser till Strömstad shoppar Augusta i Göteborg. Allt finns noga noterat i hennes kassabok.

En slöja, en mantille, en nattrock

Hennes shoppande är intressant. Är det här kläder hon behöver eller är det saker hon ser i Göteborg och bara måste köpa. Kanske lite av en semestershopping, att hitta några fina saker från Göteborg. Vi vet inte, men kanske behövde hon en nattrock när hon skulle besöka Strömstad. Den resan blev ju inte bestämd förrän de kom till Göteborg och Augusta kanske behövde lämpliga kläder för övernattning på  badorten. Det finns  ytterligare en tänkbar förklaring i dagboken under Göta kanalresan till Göteborg. En situation som kom Augusta att tänka på hur viktigt det är att vara propert klädd, även på natten. På Göta kanal hade Augusta ingen hyttplats utan sov sittande på däck och hade alltså inte klätt om till nattkläder. Men de andra…

Ödet gynnade mig äfven den gången genom att förskaffa mig sällskap, ty knappt var klockan slagen 11, förr än en stöt, som skakade hela fartyget förkunnade att vi stodo på grund midt uti Wenern. Samtliga passagerare som redan en god stund hvilat i sina hytter och hängmattor, blefvo nu synliga, den ena efter den andra, utstyrda i de bisarraste toiletter. Hos damerna var en jämmer och tandagnislan och Herr Cassel och jag, som jemte Capitainen varit de enda på däck, blefvo nu omgifna af en mängd yrvakna och förskräckta, frågande menniskor, som i sina ogenerade, curieusa costumer, bildade de mest löjliga grupper.

Kanske var det helt enkelt så att Augusta inte ville riskera att behöva visa sig offentligt i någon bisarr toilett om hon skulle vistas på däck på ångbåtsresan till Strömstad.

Hur såg en nattrock ut i mitten av 1800-talet?

Jag började leta i muséernas samlingar. Några svenska natt- eller morgonrockar hittade jag inte från denna tid. Däremot hittade jag modeplanscher. Så jag fick ge mig ut i Europa och USA för att se om jag kunde hitta något motsvarande. Jag hamnade i en djungel av benämningar och deras olika användningsområden. På engelska kan man hitta en mängd olika benämningar såsom dressing gown, morning gown, night gown, housecoat, dressing robe eller wrapper. Jag insåg snabbt att nattrockens utseende har sina rötter långt tillbaka och från många olika kulturer.

Dessa ”rockar” hade gemensamt att det var löst sittande och bars inomhus. Oftast hade man dem ovanpå kläder som man inte kunde visa sig i, nattlinne eller särk och underkjolar av varierande mängd. Ett praktiskt plagg även för gravida kvinnor. Annars var ju modet just i mitten av 1800-talet som ett timglas, en smal midja, bredare axlar och stor vidd i kjolen. I nattrocken kunde man känna sig lite ledigare.

I kalla dragiga hus under mitten av 1800-talet var en varm nattrock säkert något man gärna kröp in i. Och skulle man bli tvungen att sitta på däck på en ångbåt, var det säkert en bra investering.

Hur såg Augustas nattrock ut och var köpte hon den?

Wettergrens klädbod låg nära Tyska kyrkan i Göteborg. I april 1850 hade man en stor annons i Göteborgs handels- och Sjöfartstidning om alla olika tyger, band, sjalar och allt annat ”modernt” man sålde.  Kanske var det här hon köpte mantillen och slöjan också?

Jag letar bland alla bilder på nattrockar som finns på nätet. Det finns nattrockar som inspirerats av orientaliska förebilder. Kaftaner från orienten är inte olika de nattrockar jag ser från Augustas tid. Paysleysjalar med sina mönster från Indien och Kashmir var högsta mode. Influenser från Japan och kimonomodet kom senare, mot slutet av 1800-talet.

Varför inte sy en nattrock?

Vi syr ju så många andra kläder i 1850-talsstil. Så varför inte? Men hur mycket användning skulle jag ha av en sådan? Ja, i dessa Coronatider hasar jag ju runt mycket hemma, och då är det ju kul att ha något vackert och skönt istället för mjukisbyxor och sweatshirts. Och kanske kommer vi iväg på en ångbåtstur nästa sommar och då behövs den kanske…

För ett par veckor sedan sålde IKEA ut sammetsgardiner till halva priset. Blekt karamellrosa. En svår färg, men om det skulle bli ett klädesplagg som inte behövde passa till något annat, så skulle det kunna bli en som en liten karamell. Jag tittade på alla bilder jag sparat från muséerna. Så fastnade jag för en förebild från Charlestons museum. Den är daterad till 1870, men jag föll för pellerinen, den lilla cape-delen som vi ju ser mycket av mitten av 1800-talets klädstil. Vi använder ju pelleriner till våra andra Augustaklänningar. Och om jag nu ändå inte kommer att uppträda i nattrock, så är det roligare att sy något roligt och vackert än något exakt historiskt korrekt. Förebilden är gjord i cashmere och med Paisleymönster. Min skulle bli i bomullsammet, men var skulle jag hitta bra band till garnering?

Ibland har man tur. För en månad sedan klädde jag om två stora sittkuddar på landet. Tyget hade blivit så blekt under 20 år. Ändå var jag fortfarande väldigt förtjust i det, ett provencalskt tryckt bomullstyg. Jag tog hem det och det visade sig att det blekts så att det idag var exakt samma kulör som sammetstyget! Ännu roligare var att det det var ett Paisleymönster! Jag köpte det i Provence många år innan jag visste vad Paisley var. Jag föll bara för hur vackert tyget var. Och då var det rejält rött!

Nu kunde jag inte använda mina klänningsmönster, det här var en helt annan konstruktion med hel framsida och rynkad baksida från midjan. Jag föll för frestelsen att göra ett litet, 10 cm släp. Det är inte heller tidstypiskt för 1850! Men skulle jag nu göra en karamell så skulle den svepa fram över parketten hemma. Och sammeten skulle ta hand om allt damm.

Det blev många sömmar för hand, jag sydde och sprättade, sydde nya sömmar och provade. Det är så man får hålla på när man inte har ett färdigt mönster. De provencalska tygbårderna var mycket bredare än förebilden från Charleston. Det sista som skulle till var de små rosetterna som håller ihop öppningen fram. Jag tyckte de såg ut som godispapper på originalet.

Idag sydde jag på de sista ”godispappren” som döljer hyskorna framtill. Kanske kan jag kalla det min Coronarock? Den blir perfekt att ha på sig under videokonferenser hemifrån!

 

Letters and Diaries, Places

Carolina Wester’s family at Loddby and the accident in August 1831

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It is a beautiful, late-summer Sunday. The Wester family at Loddby has attended church and listened to Pastor Mobeck’s sermon about the importance of rest and of keeping the Sabbath. Now they are back at Loddby and that is what they are doing. At least the women, resting. The three young men have decided to go fishing. The matriarch, widow, and owner of Loddby, Carolina Wester, and her daughter Caroline are sitting in the sunny parlor downstairs.

Sofia Ulrich is upstairs with the younger girls: Ulla, Ida, and Lotten Wester. They are sitting by the window, talking. Through the trees, they can see the sun glitter on the bay and the small rowboat in the distance. Sofia can’t tell if it is Berndt or Carl or Markus who is rowing. They are too far out on the bay. Suddenly there seems to be some commotion in the boat – is someone standing up? Then things happen fast. For a split second, it looks like the boat is listing, and then, with horror, she realizes that the boat is capsizing.

Lotten Ulrich’s diary, 1 September 1831

“Today, we received very sad news, that little Markus Wester has drowned at his mother’s Loddby and that both Berndt Forsgrén and Ulla’s fiancé Hülphers almost drowned as well. Poor Tante Wester who has just lost a beloved son in such a horrible way, and poor Caroline! Imagine losing one’s brother and fear for one’s husband’s life, especially as she is still ill, for it has not even been two weeks since she gave birth at Loddby to a baby who died the following day, and such a more heartfelt loss as they have been married for 3 years without being able to have any children, something they really wanted.

Poor Ulla, who lost a brother and was close to have her fiancé perish. She was with her sisters, Ida and Lotten, and my aunt Sofia upstairs and saw from the windows the little rowing boat capsize. They hurried down and sent a boat to the rescue, but the distressed men were several hundred meters from the shore. Berndt was about to take his last breath when the boat reached them. Young Hülphers, who was swimming towards the shore carrying Markus on his back, was completely exhausted and when the help reached him, Markus was already dead in his arms. Because of all the water he had swallowed and the horror he had experienced, he had passed out and died.”

The Owners of Loddby

Augusta’s brother-in-law, Gustaf Lejdenfrost, bought Loddby from Caroline Wester in 1832 and Augusta moved to Loddby in 1835. Augusta lived at Loddby with her mother, brother, and Lejdenfrost until she married. But who were Caroline Wester and all the persons named in Lotten Ulrich’s diary? And who was Lotten Ulrich?

Lotten Ulrich’s Diary

Lotten Ulrich (1806-1887) and Edla Ulrich (1816-1897) lived at the Royal Palace in Stockholm where their father, Johan Christian Henrik Ulrich, was the secretary to King Carl XIV Johan. The two sisters’ diaries were published in  Systrarnas Ulrichs dagböcker by Margareta Östman. When the king died in 1844, the family had to move to Norrköping (close to Loddby) and Augusta’s best friend in Stockholm, Lotten Westman, encouraged Augusta to get acquainted with the two sisters.

Geneology and Relationships – For those who are interested…

Sofia Vilhelmina Ulrich (1798-1866)

Who was Lotten Ulrich’s aunt Sofia Ulrich? She was indeed one of Lotten Ulrich’s father’s sisters (there were 9 children in the family). Sofia was born in Norrköping and in 1831, at the age of 33, she was living with the Ulrich family at Loddby. How was she acquainted with the Wester family? We don’t know.

Carolina Wester (1786-1875)

The matriarch, widow, and owner of Loddby, Carolina Wester, was born Heitmüller. In 1807, she married the 34-year-old widow, Markus Wester (1773-1820), who owned the ironworks at Molnebo. Together, they had 8 children.

  1. Daniel Kristian (1808-1813)
  2. Kristina Hedda Karolina ”Caroline” (1811-1891)
  3. Karl Erik (1813-1864)
  4. Lovisa Ulrika Maria ”Ulla” (1814-1886)
  5. Aronina Arvida Gabriella ”Ida” (1815-1886)
  6. Markusina Charlotta ”Lotten” (1816- 1839)
  7. Markus (1817-1831)
  8. Hjalmar (1819-1824)

Just a side note about names. I have never seen the names of Aronina and Markusina before. But just as the female versions of Christian, Carl, and Joseph are Christina, Carolina, and Josephina, I guess one can add “ina” to any male name – Aron and Markus become Aronina and Markusina.

 

Carolina Wester (1786-1875)
Markus Wester (1773-1820)

Caroline Wester (1811-1891)

Kristina Hedda Karolina ”Caroline” was the oldest daughter in the family. In 1829, she married Berndt Gustaf Forsgrén (1799-1888) who was a silk and clothing merchant in Stockholm. His store was located at the excellent address of Stortorget 1 in the Old Town, right across from the bourse. In the summer of 1831, Caroline must have stayed with her mother at Loddby for the birth of her first child. And now she had lost both her baby and her brother. It could have been even worse. She could have lost her husband too in the boating accident.

So how did life turn out for Caroline and Berndt? According to the census records in Stockholm, the couple had 9 children and, in 1845, the family lived at Stora Nygatan 22. Berndt Forsgrén was very successful and became extremely wealthy. One of their daughters, Carolina Elisabet, married Erik Swartz (b. 1817), and their son, Carl Swartz, became Sweden’s prime minister in 1917.

Berndt Forsgrén also had a successful brother, merchant Carl Robert Forsgrén (1797-1853). He married Sofia Ulrich’s younger sister, Anna Eleonora Lowisa (1805-1853) in 1826. Their granddaughter was Anna Whitlock, a famous woman’s right advocate and suffragette who founded a modern school for girls in 1878.

Ulla Wester (1814-1886)

Lovisa Ulrika Maria ”Ulla” was 17 years old in the summer of 1831. She was engaged to textile dyer Carl Abraham Hülphers (1806-1860), the young man who tried to rescue Markus Wester. Ulla and Carl married in 1833 and had one daughter, Sofia Karolina Lovisa (1835-1885). Sofia married Johan Gustaf Swartz (1819-1885) in 1854.

Interestingly, the daughters of the two sisters, Caroline and Ulla Wester, married the two brothers Swartz (Erik and Johan).

Ida Wester (1815-1886)

Aronina Arvida Gabriella ”Ida” married Frans Adam Björling (1801-1869) in 1842. It was his second marriage. Ida did not have any children but she was a stepmother to her husband’s son, Carl August Theodor. The family owned and lived at Slagsta, an estate south of Stockholm.

Lotten Wester (1816- 1839)

Markusina Charlotta ”Lotten”, the youngest daughter in the family, had a short life. She did not marry and died in Norrköping at the age of 22 from dysentery (Swedish: rödsot).

The image of the 3 men in a rowboat is from a larger painting by Josefina Holmlund (b. 1827):

https://digitaltmuseum.se/021046500729/roddtur-pa-fjorden/media?slide=0

 

Brev och dagböcker, Musik, Nöjen

Den dyra biljetten till Jenny Linds konsert 1850

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I år är det 200 år sedan Jenny Lind föddes, en av våra mest kända svenskar utomlands. Det har redan publicerats så mycket med anledning av jubiléet, böcker, artiklar och filmer, så jag tänkte inte upprepa hennes hela askungehistoria här.

Jag undrade istället hur mycket Augusta kände till Jenny Lind. Augusta gick i flickpension i Stockholm 1841-1845 och vistades sedan till och från i huvudstaden under följande år. Under de åren gjorde Jenny Lind succé i Europa. Augusta nämner ingenting i sin dagbok om Jenny Lind. Det tycker jag är lite anmärkningsvärt. Augusta var ju själv en sångfågel om än inte en näktergal. Hon tog sånglektioner för operasångaren Isidor Dannström under sin tid i Stockholm.

I somras gick jag igenom material inför nästa bok om Augusta, bland annat om livet i Stockholm i början av 1850-talet. Jag höll på att jämföra Augustas kassabok med hennes dagboksanteckningar när jag plötligt längst ner under alla utgifter för klänningar och hattar i maj 1850 ser utgiften: ”Mamsell Linds Consert, 16:- ”.

Hur många mamseller Lind finns det att välja på i Stockholm, och som håller konsert? Och jämför jag priset med de andra konserterna Augusta bevistar denna vår, är priset väldigt högt. Det måste ju vara näktergalen själv. Raskt plockar jag fram datorn och loggar in på Kungliga bibliotekets dagstidningsarkiv. Var Jenny Lind i Stockholm då, var hon inte i USA från 1850?

Jag gick tillbaka till Augustas dagbok och letade i maj 1850. Inget om VAD hon såg eller lyssnade på. Hela våren skriver hon sammanfattad i ett par meningar, förmodligen i efterhand. Kanske var dagboken inte ens med till Stockholm.

1 Februari 1850 reste jag, åtföljd af Mamma och Lejdenfrost, åter till Stockholm. Jag var förbjuden att dansa och då jag ej passerade mina aftnar hos Ekströms eller Bohemans, hvilket ofta var fallet, så kunde man vara säker att träffa mig på någon concert i de la Croix salong, eller i någon loge på stora Operan. 

Lungsoten påverkade Augustas vardag. Och det skulle komma att bli värre än att inte få dansa.

Gustavianska operan vid Gustav Adolfs torg.

Mycket riktigt hittar jag flera artiklar om Jenny Lind och den konsertserie hon höll exklusivt under maj och juni 1850. Hon kom till Stockholm den 12 maj med hjulångaren Gauthiod från Travemünde och mottogs som den megastjärna hon var. När båten passerade Kalmar sköt man salut, men Gauthiod kunde inte besvara saluten då kronprinsens 16 hästar fanns ombord! I Stockholm mottogs hon av en stor skara på Skeppsbron.

Under sina sex veckor i Sverige skulle hon göra sex framträdanden på Kungliga Theatern. Det första var den 24 maj. Biljettpriset var det dubbla mot vad Operan normalt tog för en föreställning. Ändå var efterfrågan större än antalet platser, varpå man byggde upp extraläktare på själva scenen. Det tyckte jag lät lite oroväckande eftersom den Gustavianska operan senare revs bland annat för att den var brandfarlig. Fanns det ens några nödutgångar på den tiden?

Vad tyckte recensenterna?

27 juni avseglade Jenny Lind med ångfartyget Gauthiod mot Lübeck för vidare resa mot Liverpool och USA. Men veckan innan hade hon även hunnit medverka vid ett ”galaspectapel” under midsommarhelgen.

Den 15 juni hade blivande kronprinsessan Lovisa från Nederländerna med familj anlänt till Stockholm. (Sara har skrivit om det) Kronprinsbröllopet gick av stapeln den 19 juni (och kronprinsessans klänning är bland de vackraste 1850-talsklänningar som finns!)

Efter att ha blifvit alldeles genomvåt vid Biskopsudden den 15 Juni  och för öfrigt åskådat all grannlåten vid förmälningshögtidligheterna åtföljde jag en kulen, regnig morgon, Bohemans och Hildegard till ångbåten Linköping, på hvilken de afreste till Anneberg, tog der ett sorgligt farväl af dem och beredde mig derefter sjelf på min avfärd från hufvudstaden.

Jenny Lind 1850 (Daugerrotypi)

Nu under midsommarhelgen var hela entouraget kvar och deltog i det stora galaspectaplet. Jenny var med och fick hälsa på alla celebriteterna. Någon journalist ondgjorde sig över att man tvingade henne att sjunga på en söndag, när hon på grund av sin kristna tro helst ville sjunga psalmer i Clara kyrka. Kanske var det bara elakt skvaller.

5 juli reste Augusta med ångbåten hem till Norrköping.

 

 

(Detta blogginlägg är baserat på tidningsartiklar från maj och juni 1850. )

Letters and Diaries, Literature

Tableau Vivant and Olof Södermark

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Last week, Kerstin shared the travel diary of 10-year old Ernst Salomon. In the summer of 1841, Ernst and his family were visiting Särö, a fashionable spa on the Swedish west coast. In his diary, he describes the activities at the spa. Besides the bathing, they went for walks, picked seashells, and went horseback riding. In the evenings, the guests took turns hosting dinners and entertainment. There was usually a program of music and singing or dancing. They also played parlor games. One of those was Tableau Vivant. This was a common parlor game in the 1800s and is described in several diaries and letters from this time.

Tableau Vivant

Tableau Vivant was something like Charades. In Charades, a person will silently act out a word for the other persons to guess. In Tableau Vivant, the actor/actors will stage a scene from a play or a book or a poem or of a famous painting. The audience then has to figure out what the scene depicts.

Rosalie Roos, who was born in Sweden in 1823 and traveled to the USA in 1851 to become a governess, describes in her memoir how she introduced this game to the family she worked for and how much fun they had in searching for costumes and props to create the tableaux vivants.

The Tableau Vivant at Särö in 1841

Back to Ernst Salomon and his diary. On the 5th of August, Ernst wrote:

“Beautiful weather. In the evening, Baroness Berzelius, Mrs. Edholm, and Countess Virsén hosted le goûter (the tasting; dinner). Between the dances, 6 tableaux vivants were performed that were pretty successful. They were:

  1. A Scene from Lalla Rookh
  2. Candlelight by Rembrandt
  3. Pastoral Concert by Södermark
  4. Fortuneteller scene by Teniers
  5. A Scene from The Pirate by Walter Scott
  6. Saint Cecilia by Carlo Dolci

The 6th one featured spiritual singing behind the curtains.”

First, I was amazed at the choices for this quiz-type game. If you belonged to the class who visited this spa, these were the authors and painters you were supposed to be familiar with. And even 10-year-old Ernst thought the game was a success.

I decided to find the images that they were supposed to stage. Here it goes:

1. A Scene from Lalla Rookh

Lalla Rookh was a very long poem written by Thomas Moore in 1817. It was a romantic, orientalist tale about a Mughal princess. The poem was very popular in the early 1800s.

Lalla Rookh

2. Candlelight by Rembrandt

I assume that this could have been Rembrandt’s painting of a student at a table by candlelight

 

Student at a Table by Candlelight. Rembrandt, 1642.

 

3. Pastoral Concert by Södermark

Let’s skip this one to the last.

4. Fortune-teller Scene by Teniers

David Teniers the Younger painted a lot of fortune-teller scenes, but they were all similar.

Mountain Landscape with a Gypsy Fortuneteller. David Teniers II. 1644-1690.

4. A Scene from The Pirate by Walter Scott

Walter Scott wrote The Pirate in 1822. It was translated to Swedish in 1827. I should probably add it to my reading list.

The Pirate. Illustration from the 1879 edition.

5. Saint Cecilia by Carlo Dolci

Saint Cecilia at the Organ. Carlo Dolci, 1671.

3. Pastoral Concert by Södermark

So let me return to Number 3, Pastoral Concert (Swedish: Landtlig Concert) av Olof Södermark.

Olof Södermark was a fantastic Swedish portrait painter. He had painted members of the royal family, and he was in high demand by the Swedish elite. He had also studied with the premier portraiture painter in Europe, Franz Xaver Winterhalter. In the fall of 1841, he would return to Sweden from Rome and settle down to do portraits. Within the next two years (1842-1843), he would actually paint the husbands of two of the women who had hosted the dinner and the tableau vivant. Baroness Berzelius’s husband was the famous chemist, Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Mrs. Edholm’s husband was Erik af Edholm, the king’s private doctor.

Jöns Jacob Berzelius painted by Olof Södermark 1843
Erik af Edholm painted by Södermark 1842

But did Södermark also paint landscapes and other genres? The problem with Södermark is that only a few of his paintings are in museums or other public places – portraits like those of the royal family or of famous people like Jenny Lind. To find his other works, one has to look for what has been sold at auctions.

The only “landscape” painting I have found is Fishing on the Pier (Swedish: Fiske på bryggan), painted in 1838.  I would love to learn about the history of this painting. Who are the people in the painting?

Fishing on the Pier. Painting by Olof Södermark 1838

I am sure he also painted “A Pastoral Concert”, but how would I search for it? Google is of no help. I decide to search for Södermark in Swedish newspapers between 1832 and 1838. Maybe someone would have written about the painting?

Bingo! A journalist (Orvar Odd) at Aftonbladet wrote about the paintings exhibited at the Salon of The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in 1838. Södermark had 3 paintings accepted.

”Mr. Södermark is exhibiting 3 paintings; two portraits and a genre painting showing three children, the oldest being a girl playing the mandolin, the next one playing castanets, and the youngest, a boy with curly hair, using all his strength blowing into a bagpipe. It is a charming piece, this last one. The shapes and the colors are so southern European and opulent, full and glowing, it’s alive, it’s vibrant! Mr. S. undoubtedly possesses, to a greater degree than any of our other painters in his genre, the art of making his characters come alive.”

This has to be ”A Pastoral Concert” and as he painted it in Rome, the scene is probably from Italy. I do wish I could still find an image of the painting. I did find another small painting he did in Rome – a sweet painting of two Italian girls.

Roman Girls by Olof Södermark

Going back to the Tableaux Vivants, I wish someone could have described how they staged these six scenes. Maybe they were common scenes for this form of entertainment – pretty easy to stage: An exotic princess, a student with a candle, 3 children playing some instruments, a fortune-teller, a pirate, and a saint. I wonder what paintings or books or films we would pick today for this game?