Romanticism in Sweden

Patriotic landscapes, Old Norse gods and dreams of the past.

After the loss of Finland in 1809, Swedes sought their identity in history. The Geatish Society and poets such as Geijer and Tegnér celebrated the Vikings and Old Norse culture.

Bengt Erland Fogelberg made marble statues of Odin, Thor and Balder in Rome, and Johan Niclas Byström sculpted kings and ancient gods. Carl Johan Fahlcrantz painted Swedish landscapes with oaks and evening light.

Many artists made their way to Rome, where a Swedish-Danish artists’ colony grew up around Thorvaldsen. Egron Lundgren travelled even further and painted watercolours in Spain and India.