Landscapes – Paradise, Dream or Threat?
Educational material for Swedish pupils abroad
Nationalmuseum’s learning activities are aimed at giving all pupils an enjoyable,
challenging and educational encounter with art on the pupils’ terms. Our objective is to
make the museum collections accessible to students in all forms of schooling. Therefore,
we have compiled material for Swedish teachers and pupils in other countries. The
purpose of this material is to enhance the linguistic development (in the broader sense)
of pupils, while enhancing their awareness of the Swedish cultural heritage, history and
contemporary society, as reflected in the Nationalmuseum collection.
This teacher’s guide contains a total of 15 works by mainly Swedish artists. The paintings
are divided into four themes: portraits, landscapes, folk tales and traditions, and history
painting. A short introduction to Nationalmuseum and its collections is also included.
The selected works do not aspire to give a comprehensive picture of Swedish art history,
but can be used to illustrate a few periods in art.
The material is intended to serve as a smorgasbord, where teachers can choose a theme
or parts of a theme to complement the topics the class is working on at the time. Use one
or more of the pictures as a starting-point or inspiration for creative writing or discussions
on various subjects. The exercises vary from simple picture tasks and image analysis, to
more complex assignments. If you wish to work more extensively on topics such as
Swedish artists, you can use all the pictures in the illustration folder and complement
them with images from the Nationalmuseum database, which is found on our website:
www.nationalmuseum.se. For instructions on how to use the database, please click on
Tips.
The images in the illustration folder can be printed out in A4 format or shown in the
classroom, for instance by using an LCD projector.
All exercises are intended for classroom use, but can naturally also be carried out on site
at Nationalmuseum. If you are planning to visit and want to focus on particular works,
please contact us well in advance to check if the work is currently on display in one of
the galleries. Remember that you don’t have to be an expert on art or artists. Explore
and discover our works together with your pupils!
If you have any questions or comments concerning the material, please contact us via
e-mail: [email protected]
This educational material was written by Helena Sjödin-Landon. Production: Veronica
Hejdelind. Graphic design: Agneta Bervokk. Translation: Gabriella Berggren.
It was made possible thanks to generous funding from SWEA.
Educational material
Landscapes – Paradise, Dream or Threat?
A landscape painting is rarely a realistic depiction of nature, but reflects the dreams and ideals of
the time.
In the early NTth century, the landscape was gradually freed from merely serving as a background,
and became more acceptable as a subject in its own right. Towards the end of the NUth century,
under the influence of Romantic ideas, landscapes were often portrayed as having a soul.
The NVth century was the heyday of landscape painting. Mid-century, the Swedish countryside
gained a vital role as a national symbol. Nature became part of the national identity. At the same
time, landscape painters were in close touch with impulses on the European continent and their
art was influenced by both nationalism and internationalism.
At the end of the NUMMs, outdoor painting became popular. Outdoor painters sought to portray
light as realistically as possible. Their motto seems to have been: “Keep your eyes open and notice
how the landscape is forever changing.” This is an entirely different approach to that of the
Romantic artists, who composed their landscapes indoors, in their studios, with the aim of
conveying a feeling or mood. Later, artists such as Ernst Josephson, Carl Fredrik Hill and August
Strindberg used landscapes to communicate emotions and memories – a kind of inner landscape,
rather than a realistic depiction of scenes that actually existed.
Landscape painting lived on into the OMth century, but was no longer as common a subject in art.
Landscapes can be used in school projects relating to national identity or historical periods. The
theme is also useful when studying landscape painting as a reflection of the times and thoughts,
dreams and ideas in the past and present.
This section presents three landscape paintings for study: Waterfall in Småland by Marcus Larson,
The Outdoor Painter by Carl Larsson, and Wonderland by August Strindberg.
Exercise
1. Analysing a landscape painting
Print out the three landscapes in the Landscapes folder, or choose images from the illustration
folder. Ask pupils to work two and two. Use the questions on Exercise Sheet 3, and ask them to
analyse the pictures. Then, ask the pupils to tell the class about their observations and thoughts.
To listen and compare observations is as educational as analysing the picture.
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2. Typically Swedish, fact or fiction?
The artist Markus Larson painted the landscape Waterfall in Småland in his studio in Paris. What
does the picture actually represent? Was his purpose to create a painting that would convey the
grandeur of nature and the smallness of man in relation to its powers, or is this a realistic section of
the world?
This is a discussion exercise on nature as a national symbol or a representation of an inner
landscape. Ask pupils to compare Larson’s Waterfall in Småland with Strindberg’s Wonderland and
Carl Larsson’s realistic Outdoor Painter. The three artists have chosen entirely different ways of
relating to the landscape – even though they have all painted a Swedish scene. Is there a kind of
nature that is typically Swedish?
Present the pictures next to each other on a projection screen in the classroom, or as printouts, so
the pupils can study and compare the three landscapes together.
Use the questions below to get the discussion going.
•
In what way are the three landscapes similar or different from one another?
•
Which of the landscapes is the most realistic? Is it most ”truthful” to:
a. paint all the details as realistically and meticulously as possible but not feel forced to
paint nature as it is (Markus Larson).
b. sit outdoors and paint what you see and experience (Carl Larsson).
c. use nature as inspiration for a painting whose primary purpose is to convey a feeling
(August Strindberg).
•
Which painting do you like the best? Vote by holding up your hand.
•
What do you think the artists wanted to convey with their landscape paintings?
•
Is there a typically Swedish countryside? If so, how would you describe it? Do you feel any
of these paintings show what you see as a typically Swedish countryside? Choose one and
explain why you chose that particular painting.
•
Is nature used as a symbol today? In what context? Try to find examples (from films,
advertising, tourism, etc).
If you want to continue studying art as a reflection of the times, go on to exercise P. Read
Strindberg’s own description of how he painted Wonderland in the fact box about the painting.
3. Idyll or disaster?
We see countless pictures on the news from environmental disasters around the world. Oil leaking
out into the ocean, melting glaciers and unforeseeable floods. At the same time, we dream of
deserted sandy beaches for our holidays. How is nature portrayed in our society today? Ask pupils
to find contemporary pictures of nature on the internet, in art books or in the press. Print, copy
and cut out the pictures you find. Lay all the pictures out on a table.
Study the pictures you have found, then discuss how nature is portrayed today. You can use the
analysis questions on Exercise Sheet P as a starting-point. The historic paintings can also be
included in the discussion.
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Here are some questions to help you:
•
Do these pictures have anything in common? Or could they be divided into different
groups, with headings such as Idyll, Disaster, and so on?
•
Why do you think nature is depicted in this way? What is the purpose? Is this a press image
that is intended to report an event or a painting that wants to convey the magnificence of
nature? Or something else?
•
Does the climate change and natural disasters affect how we portray nature today?
If so, how?
4. Pictures – words – pictures
An exercise where pupils can practise writing and developing their own imagery.
Start by printing a few landscape paintings from the illustration folder, preferably a few in different
styles. Ask pupils to work two and two. Based on the landscape picture they have chosen, ask them
to find as many adjectives and nouns as possible and to write them down on an A4 sheet. Then ask
the groups to exchange sheets with each other in the class. Using the words on the new sheet, the
pupils should paint a landscape together, inspired by the words.
Use watercolours, acrylic paint, oil pastels or anything you have available. Conclude the exercise by
trying to match the older landscape paintings with the pictures painted by the pupils. Is it possible?
Study and discuss together in the classroom. Use the following questions to get the discussion
started.
•
Compare similarities and differences in the paired paintings. Are there any similarities or
differences between the landscape you painted and the old painting? Is it the same kind of
landscape, or the same kind of feeling in your picture?
•
How did you decide how to paint your picture? Did the words inspire how you painted or
drew the picture? If so, how?
•
How did it feel to paint a picture together? Was it fun or hard?
P
1. Waterfall in Småland, 1856
Marcus Larson (1825–1864)
Dark, stormy clouds are looming in the sky, water gushes forth and the trees bow to the wind.
A golden light breaks through the clouds and illuminates the wild rapids. The painting is
meticulously executed and full of naturalistic detail. But if we study the overall impression, is
this a realistic image? Isn’t the light a bit too golden, isn’t the water a bit too wild, and doesn’t the
wind seem rather too strong, at least for Småland?
Marcus Larson painted Waterfall in Småland in 1856 in his Paris studio, far from Sweden. He
used whatever was at hand, including photographs, sketches and the new, bright cadmium and
chromium oil colours, to achieve the effects he desired in his work.
Larson graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Stockholm. He then went to Düsseldorf
where he continued his studies and became influenced by the romantic style of landscape painting
as an expression of glorious and dramatic feelings. Realistic details are mixed into his arranged
compositions. In his waterfall in Småland the natural forces of the wilderness are portrayed as
being both impressive and dangerous.
2. The Outdoor Painter, 1886
Carl Larsson (1853–1919)
Carl Larsson was one of many Nordic artists who embraced realist art and its demand that nature
should be depicted the way it looked in real life, directly on site. Truth was the new artistic ideal.
In the Scandinavian artist colony in Grez-sur-Loing on the outskirts of Paris, Carl Larsson devoted
himself to painting watercolours of everyday landscape scenes in broad daylight. He also met his
future wife here, the Swedish artist Karin Bergöö.
In NUUR, Karin and Carl moved back to Sweden. Carl tried to apply his experiences as a realist
outdoor painter in France to his new Swedish setting. In the slightly humorous painting of the
Outdoor Painter, he reveals some of the problems that faced Nordic artists when they tried to
practice outdoor painting in their own region in the winter. This painting shows the artist muffled
in thick clothes in a backyard in southern Stockholm. With frozen fingers he is attempting to depict
the reality surrounding him. Curious bystanders have stopped in their footsteps and are watching.
This enhances the snapshot impression of the scene.
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3. Wonderland, 1894
August Strindberg (1849–1912)
August Strindberg painted during a few relatively short periods of his life. He had no formal
training as an artist. His works were usually painted when he was suffering from writer’s block
for one reason or another. His landscapes are never realistic. Strindberg’s method was based on
chance, and his main tool was the palette knife. In the essay The New Arts! or The Role of Chance in
Artistic Creation he describes how he painted Wonderland:
“I am governed by a vague design. I have in mind the interior of a shadowy wood, from where the
sea can be seen at sunset.
“Fine! With the knife that I use for this purpose – I possess no brushes! – I distribute the colours on
the cardboard and mix them so as to obtain the rudiments of a design. The opening in the centre
of the canvas represents the horizon with the sea; now the interior of the wood, the network of
branches and twigs, is extended in a group of colours, fourteen, fifteen, pell-mell but always in
harmony. The canvas is covered; I step back and take a look! Confound it! I can see no trace of any
sea; the illuminated opening shows an endless perspective of pink and bluish light /.../
“The wood has become a dark subterranean cave, barred by brambles: and in the foreground –
let’s see – why, rocks covered with unknown lichens – and there, to the right, the knife has
smoothed down the colours too much, so that they look like reflections in water. Well then!
It’s a pool. Perfect! /.../
“A touch here and there with my finger, which brings the rebellious colours together, blends and
dispels the crude tones, refines, gives air and the picture is done!”
From August Strindberg.”Nya konstriktningar! eller Slumpen i det konstnärliga skapandet”.
Published in English in Michael Robinson, August Strindberg, p. NMS. Cambridge University Press, NVVS.
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Exercise Sheet 3. Image analysis questions for landscapes
Artists who painted pictures of landscapes hardly ever depicted nature exactly the way it was.
Usually, they would add or remove something to make the painting as interesting as possible,
according to the way people wanted to see nature during their period. Your task is to analyse a
landscape painting and find out what thoughts and intentions the artist may have had. Use the
following questions to guide you.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
What kind of landscape is in the picture?
What is in the middle of the picture?
What is going on in the landscape?
Are there are any living creatures or human figures in the landscape? Describe them.
What is in the foreground and what is far away in the distance?
What is the weather like? For instance, is it windy or calm, hot or cold?
What time of day is it? Night or day, twilight or dawn?
What season is it?
What is the mood of the picture? For instance, is it happy, unsettled, dramatic,
serene or sad?
Does the artist seem to have painted a real landscape, or is this an imaginary landscape?
Read through your descriptions and explain your answer.
Why do you think the artist chose to portray nature in this particular way?
What was the purpose?
What do you think of this painting? Give your opinion and explain why
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Waterfall in Småland, Marcus Larson
The Outdoor Painter, Carl Larsson
Wonderland, August Strindberg
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