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Interior view of Nationalmuseum. Photo by Daderot.

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about the Nationalmuseum

The Nationalmuseum or National Museum of Fine Arts is Sweden’s national gallery, located in central Stockholm on the peninsula Blasieholmen.

The nationalmuseum’s operations extend far beyond the boundaries of Blasieholmen; it manages the National Portrait Gallery collection at Gripshom, the Gustavsbergporclain museum, a few castle collections, and the Swedish Institute in Â鶹APP (Institut Tessin). Nationalmuseum Jamtli opened in stersund in the summer of 2018 to display a portion of the collection in the north of Sweden. 

King Gustav III and Carl Gustaf Tessin are among the museum’s patrons. Kungliga Museet was established in 1792. (“Royal Museum”). The current structure was completed in 1866, when it was renamed the Nationalmuseum and used as one of the buildings to hold exhibitions.

1. The Nationalmuseum was designed by Friedrich August Stüler

The current structure, which was constructed between 1844 and 1866, was inspired by North Italian Renaissance architecture. It was designed by German architect Friedrich August Stüler, who also designed Berlin’s Neues Museum. The relatively closed exterior belies the spacious interior, which is dominated by a massive flight of stairs leading up to the topmost galleries.

In 1961, the museum was expanded to accommodate the museum workshops. The current restaurant opened in 1996. The museum closed for renovations in 2013 and reopened on October 13, 2018. The $132 million renovation aimed to display more of the museum’s collection while also matching the security, accessibility, fire safety, and climate control of a modern institution.

2. Over 700,000 objects are housed in the Nationalmuseum’s collections

Nationalmusuem. Photo by Ninara.

 The Nationalmuseum’s collections include over 700,000 objects dating from the 1500s to the present day, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographic portraits, crafts, and design. A selection of approximately 5,000 of them will be on display at the museum.

The collections are presented chronologically and on an imaginary timeline that runs through the building. This enables visitors to easily navigate through the centuries. Arts, crafts, and design are displayed side by side, providing a more in-depth understanding and perspective on the various eras.

Each era is represented by a large exhibition hall. The smaller, adjacent rooms allow for broadening horizons or “deep dives” into the various issues surrounding the time period in question.

3. The Nationalmuseum houses the world’s most extensive collection of portrait miniatures

Queen Marie Antoinette of France and two of her children in the Park of Trianon, 1785 found at Nationalmusuem. Photo by Ninara.

For a variety of reasons, the Nationalmuseum has the world’s largest collection of portrait miniatures, totaling 5,200 and steadily increasing. A significant portion was donated by master collector Carl Fredrik Dahlgren, while the more exclusive works were donated by cork factory owner Hjalmar Wicander.

His fortune was built on the production of bottle corks for the brewing industry. Wicander also contributed funds specifically for the purchase of additional miniatures. A portrait miniature could be used as a unique calling card or as a lover’s gift – and was frequently kept close to the recipient’s heart. More than 600 of them are now on display, ranging from Nicholas Hilliard’s depiction of Queen Elizabeth I to Siri Derkert’s portrait of her son Carlo in the twentieth century. For the first time, miniature paintings are displayed alongside other accessories such as jewelry, boxes, and pocket watches.

4. For a long time, the Nationalmuseum has been collecting contemporary jewelry

Exhibit in the Vietnam National Museum. Photo by Daderot.

The museum has been collecting contemporary jewelry for a long time, but it has never actively acquired older objects. As a result, significant complementary acquisitions have been made in recent years. Visitors can now examine large portions of this collection up close. Although jewelry is traditionally associated with women, the exhibition also includes a variety of accessories for men, ranging from canes to medals.

When the building was built, it had two open courtyards to allow light into the museum’s central sections. The southern courtyard was converted into an auditorium, storage area, and exhibition hall in the 1960s. The northern courtyard was enclosed in glass in 1996 to house the museum’s restaurant.

The collection of sculptures was one of the museum’s main features when it was planned in the 1840s. Thor, Odin, and Balder, the »Big Trio« of Norse mythology, confronted visitors in the entrance hall.

5. Nationalmuseum has a section for children

Villa Curiosa is a sensual, absurd, and philosophical exhibition for children that teaches them how to interpret and experience the Nationalmuseum’s collections, as well as art in general. Original works of art from the museum’s collection are mixed with props in sensual experience-based settings. Saturday and Sunday are the days when the exhibition is open. School groups are welcome to visit before opening hours, Tuesday through Friday.

6. Three paintings were stolen from the Nationalmuseum in 2000

After detonating bombs in two cars at nearby hotels to distract police, a man armed with a submachine gun and two men armed with handguns threatened the guards and stole three paintings around 4:55 p.m. The robbers fled by throwing nails on the road to obstruct police vehicles and fleeing in a motorboat moored in a nearby waterway.

The police received a ransom demand for several million kronor from a lawyer acting on behalf of the thieves in January 2001, along with photos of the paintings to prove their authenticity, but they refused to pay.

In January, the scheme’s masterminds, Alexander Petrov and Stefan Nordström, as well as the lawyer who acted as a negotiator on their behalf and several other accomplices, were arrested, leading to the conviction of Petrov, Nordström, and three others in July of the same year. Despite the arrests, the police did not recover any of the paintings until two months later, when the conversation was discovered during an unrelated drug raid. 

7. The National Museum in Stockholm closed for renovations on February 3, 2013

NationalMuseum. Photo by Smuconlaw.

The museum required extensive renovation and renovation due to the building’s extensive wear and tear. Several of the technical systems in the house have reached their service life. The National Property Agency was commissioned in 2009 to conduct a feasibility study, and SFV was commissioned in 2010 to develop a building program that was presented to the government in 2011. The National Museum began planning for renovation and renovation in 2012, and in February 2013, the National Museum began its evacuation of the museum building.

8. National Property Board (Statens fastighetsverket, SFV) was tasked with renovating the Nationalmusuem

On February 20, 2014, the government assigned SFV the task of renovating and rebuilding the National Museum into a fully modern museum building, adapted to the museum’s future activities while preserving cultural historical values in the unique, building-memorized museum building. The work was completed in close collaboration with the Nationalmuseum, the tenant.

9. Following renovations, the Nationalmuseum reopened in 2018

King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the museum on October 13, 2018, in the presence of members of the royal family, Minister of Culture Alice Bah Kuhnke, and thousands of visitors. The museum’s exhibition space has been expanded to accommodate twice as many visitors and nearly three times as many works.

Aside from a technical update, previously sealed windows and roof lanterns have been added to create more daylight and city views. The noisy restaurant has been relocated to a more peaceful location and replaced with an airy and peaceful sculpture yard. The museum has reintroduced a vibrant color palette inspired by the original.

10. The Nationalmuseum has an App

National Museum of Fine Arts. Photo by Davide Mauro.

The Nationalmuseum Visitor Guide App includes audio guides, facts, and ideas. The perfect companion for your museum visit, and a veritable gold mine for anyone interested in art and design.