Isbjörn
Artist/Maker
DatesMade: Executed 1686
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 171 x 204 cm
Inventory numberNMDrh 566
Other titlesTitle (sv): Isbjörn
DescriptionExhibition text: In 1686, the animal-loving Karl XI commissioned a portrait of a polar bear from court painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. The bear was in Stockholm, in a building near the stables on Helgeandsholmen. An eyewitness account describes how it was kept on a chain and swam in Norrström. It originally came from Novaya Zemlya and was probably a gift from Tsar Peter I. Such a rare wild animal from a distant land had a high status in the royal menagerie.
Exhibited
Collection
TechniquePainting
Object category
External links