STOCKHOLM.- Light and stillness – Scandinavian art at the turn of the 20th century opens on Saturday 24 September at the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi. The exhibition comprises some of the best examples of Scandinavian painting from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, all on loan from Nationalmuseum. The extensive list of artists on display includes Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, Hanna Pauli, Vilhelm Hammershøi and Fanny Brate.

The exhibition, which contains around 50 works by Swedish, Danish and Norwegian artists, shows the impact of France on the Nordic artists, as well as their mutual exchange. But while the importance of French inspiration is undeniable, the works in the exhibition have features of their own that are considered characteristically Nordic. Foremost amongst these are the light and the sense of stillness and quiet. The light in the plein air paintings of the 1880s certainly reflected the works of the contemporary French artists, but in Sweden it took on a strongly symbolic meaning in opposition to the tradition-bound painting of the academies. In the exhibition’s later paintings, the deserted, wide-open landscapes of the National Romantics exude stillness and quiet, while the interior becomes a motif that presents the home as both idyllic and evocative – reflecting not only Ellen Key’s philosophy on beauty in the home but also the notion of a particularly melancholy Nordic temperament.

The exhibition is curated by Carl-Johan Olsson of Nationalmuseum, who also wrote the text in the catalogue. One purpose of the exhibition is to show how important France has been to Scandinavian art, but also how the Scandinavian artists stood on their own two feet and worked with considerable self-confidence. The exhibition can be seen as part of the growing interest that France has shown in Scandinavian art in recent years. In 2014, Petit Palais held a Carl Larsson exhibition in collaboration with Nationalmuseum, and this year French museums have shown works by Allan Österlind and Frits Thaulow.

The exhibition Light and stillness – Scandinavian art at the turn of the 20th century will run at the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi, France from 24 September 2016 until 8 January 2017.