Carl Stefan Bennet
Swedish, 1800-1878
Landscape with Castle and Village in Distance, n.d.
oil on canvas
25 1/2 x 38 1/4 in.
SBMA, Gift of Patrick and Vicki Stone
2005.2
RESEARCH PAPER
Description of the Painting
Almost 2/3 of the canvas is a cloudless sky, with a soft light coming from the left to right. The vistas are arranged in horizontals pleasing to the eye:
Low hills form the background against the pale yellow-orange light of dawn in the sky. Moving forward, there are views of foliage, the castle and its shoreline, with the village on the right with a prominent church steeple. Closer to the foreground, one sees a mirror lake with reflections of the castle, a small island, trees and village church steeple. The foreground shoreline, with trees framing the castle and village in the distance, along with rocks and ground cover, seem to sweep gently to the right, matching the soft rhythm of light sweeping from left to right in the background.
The color palette of the painting consists primarily of muted tones of yellow-orange, blues and greens of the landscape and water. The castle itself, a red brick structure, stands out somewhat, and when one looks closely, a red squirrel is found on a rock in the right foreground. His detailed, naturalistic landscape is pleasing to the eye. Bennet creates a sense of space with the expanse of sky and views across the lake, yet pulls us into the scene with such details as the small squirrel on the rock.
The castle we look at in the painting is Gripsholm Castle, on the shores of Lake Malaren in Sweden, near the town of Mariefred. If I am correct in locating it on the map, we are looking south, with the sun rising on the left. We do not know the date of this painting, but the artist painted this scene at least one other time in 1841, more from the standpoint of Mariefred, and in the winter. That painting also shows a large expanse of sky, along with a glowing pink and yellow light. Light is very precious to Nordic painters. In summer, the sun sets around midnight, rising again several hours later. In the winter, sunrise is about 10:30 am, setting again by 2:30 pm.
The Artist and Sweden in the 19th century
Carl Stefan Bennet was born in Sweden on May 26, 1800, and died in Stockholm, March 27, 1878. He is referred to as Baron Carl Stefan Bennet in a number of sources, probably having acquired the title from his father, Baron Karl Fredrik Bennet, who married Countess Fredrika Margareta Thott. A cadet in 1817, Bennet became a Captain by 1837 and was discharged from the military in 1838. He belonged to a large group of military officers who used their artistic talents to supplement meager salaries. He received most of his artistic education during his travels to Italy from1829-32. While in Rome and Naples, Bennet primarily was under the influence of the French landscape painter Horace Vernet, as well as the Nordic sculptors B.E. Fogelberg and B.Thorwaldsen. Bennet was not a sculptor, focusing his career on landscapes, scenes of Stockholm events and folk life. He became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm in 1840, and was appointed painter to the royal court in 1844. Some highlights from historical references on the artist:
He is best known as a genre and landscape painter, painting many scenes of Swedish life, cultural events, such as statue unveilings, court celebrations and inauguration of a railway. His drawings of life in military camps, done during his military service, reveal an alert observer of that life, along witty characterizations. In addition to court life, he painted scenes of Swedish farmers and landscapes such as the subject of this paper. He also painted portraits, but was not highly rated by Swedish art critics as a portrait artist.
It would appear that the bulk of Bennet’s works are in Sweden, and can be found at museums in Drottningholm, the Goteborg Art Museum and the Malmo museum. The university library of Uppsala owns no less than 750 of his watercolors.
Some highlights of Sweden in the 19th century:
Sweden emerged economically weak after the Napoleonic wars, which resulted in large emigrations to United States during the second half of the 19th century. Although losing control of Finland to Russia in 1809, Sweden gained Norway from Denmark in 1814, which remained under Swedish control until 1905.
The Swedish monarchy, one of the oldest still existing in Europe, also underwent a change with the establishment of the Bernadotte Dynasty in 1810 by one of Napoleon’s generals, Karl Johan. Sweden ceased to be an absolute monarchy in 1864, with the formation of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government.
Although there was an interest in both Romantic landscape painting with dramatic scenes and historical painting glorifying Sweden’s past, there are few successful examples in Swedish art. Bennet’s art, considered more for its cultural significance than artistic merit, probably is similar in style and content to one of his contemporaries, Kilian Zoll (1818-1860), who painted anecdotal, picturesque life in Stockholm and summer landscapes. Nature is depicted as scenery, not an expression of a spiritual state.
An Art Union was formed in Sweden in 1832, which organized sales of art, supported by wealthy collectors and patrons.
Some facts on Gripsholm Castle:
Located west of Stockholm, on the shores of Lake Malaren, in Sodermanland, near the town of Mariefred, it is the second castle built on the site after a 13th century structure was confiscated and torn down by King Gustav I, the founder of the Vasa Dynasty.
King Gustav built the structure in 1537 with massive brick walls, as a defensive fortification for his family in case Stockholm was attacked. It was used as a prison from 1713-1773, at which time it was renovated by King Gustav III, who added a theatre, which still exists.
The castle is regarded today as one of Sweden’s finest historical monuments, and houses Sweden’s National Portrait Gallery.
The gardens surrounding the castle were developed in the 19th century to reflect the romantic spirit of the times. In the 1860’s, King Karl XV redeveloped Hjorthagen, pastureland belonging to the Gripsholm Royal Farm, as a large park for walking and keeping animals. Herds of deer are maintained on the land there today.
Bibliography
Benezit, E., editor, Dictionnaire Des Paintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Tome 2, Bedusch-Birchard, Grund 1999
Brigstocke, Hugh and Turner, Jane, editors, The Dictionary of Art, vol. 30, Grove, publ. 1996
Bukowskis, Buskowski Auktioner Aktiebug, 25-27 Maj, 1994, Stockholm
Champlin, John Denison, Jr., editor, Cyclopedia of Painters and Painting, vol 1, Charles Scribner’s Sons, NYC, 1913
Forlag, Allhems, Svenskt Konstnars Lexikon, vol. 1, publ. 1952
Kent, Neil, The Triumph of Light and Nature, Nordic Art 1740-1940, Thomas and Hudson, Ltd. publ., London, 1987
http://www.ra.se/KRA/okt02.html
Re. Gripsholm Castle: www.royalcourt.se/2.195eb9aeea2271.html
Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by Julie Allen, April 6, 2006