Full Description
The Scandinavian Home is the first publication to examine the entangled notions of home and homeland that were central to the art and material culture of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland in the second half of the nineteenth century. "Home" was a central metaphor in the nation-building activities of each country. The arts played a crucial role in reinforcing a shared sense of belonging amongst Nordic countries as they strove to identify and celebrate authentic local and national identities. The linkages among land, landscape, handicraft, and domestic dwellings as dimensions of home are embedded in this survey of the extensive David and Sue Werner Collection of Scandinavian art, presented to the public for the first time. Encompassing an impressive range of almost 150 painting, drawing, furniture, textiles, glass, metalwork, ceramics, and works on paper, highlights include rare tapestries and a wooden cabinet by the Norwegian artist Gerhard Munthe; Finnish ceramics by Willy Finch; landscape paintings by Hilma af Klint, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Gustav Fjaestad and Pekka Halonen; and anonymous functional objects by outstanding handicraft artists - covering embroideries, metalwork, and wooden implements.
Contents
Foreword by Elizabeth Barker, Director; Acknowledgments by Dawn Brean, Patricia G. Berman, and Michelle Facos; Curator's Introduction: Home as History by Michelle Facos and Patricia G. Berman; Interview with David and Sue Werner; Home by Michelle Facos; Vital Bodies by Patricia G. Berman; Art Nouveau and Nature by Sabine Wieber; A Natural Presence: Nordic Landscape in the Nineteenth Century by Thor Mednick; Dragon Tales: Glimpses of the Dragon Style in Nineteenth-Century Norway by Tonje Haugland Sorensen; Gerhard Munthe as the Creator of a New Style by Jan Kokkin; Artists' Homes by Charlotte Ashby; Wood as Good: Precious Design and Cheap Nature by Kjetil Fallan; Nordic Ceramics in 1900 by Dawn Brean; Notes; Exhibition Checklist; Further Reading; Index; Photo Credits
