Friends and Enemies

Carl Larsson is one of Sweden’s best-known and best-loved artists. He came from a humble background and initially had a hard time establishing himself as an artist. However, after his breakthrough in 1882, he enjoyed great success and won many prestigious commissions. He was a personal friend or acquaintance of most members of Sweden’s cultural elite and occupied a central position in fin de siècle cultural life. Among the highlights of his oeuvre is a series of portraits of contemporary cultural personalities.

Despite his success, Carl Larsson did not go unchallenged. This was especially true in the case of the public art commissions he won, such as the stairwell murals at Nationalmuseum. The conservative establishment headed by King Oscar II was highly critical of his art, while his politically radical artistic friends considered him too conservative. Larsson was badly stung by the criticism.

One friend who turned into a bitter enemy was August Strindberg. He and Larsson had been friends since the early 1880s, but in his 1908 work, A New Blue Book, Strindberg made a withering attack on Carl and Karin under the heading “Fabricated Characters”. Thereafter, Larsson nurtured a desire for revenge on his former friend.

Many of Carl Larsson’s best-known works depict his own family and social circle. His books about domestic life at Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn (in the Dalarna region of Sweden) not only laid the foundations of his own popularity, but also created the notion of the happy, beautiful home in the minds of millions of readers.

Here you can see a selection of artworks from Nationalmuseum’s collections that were part of the exhibition “Carl Larsson – Friends & Enemies”.

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