November 2023
Sat25Nov(Nov 25)07:00Sat24Feb(Feb 24)00:00
Info
The Academy of Fine Arts owns one of Europe's oldest collections of plaster casts. It contains copies of sculptures, works of art, ornaments and even some original works. The oldest are from the 1690s and today the collection consists of around 900 works. It still raises charged questions about how we create – and discuss – artistic ideals.
The exhibition will be on display in the halls of the Academy of Fine Arts from November 25, 2023 – February 24. 2024. Albert France Lanord has designed the exhibition architecture. In connection with the exhibition, a catalogue of the Academy of Fine Arts' collection of plaster sculptures will be published, with texts by Eva-Lena Bengtsson, Elisabet Tebelius-Murén, Christina Risberg, and Svante Helmbaek Tirén.
Drawing and modeling from plaster casts was an important part of artistic education for centuries. Plaster copies of famous sculptures and works of art provided students with both technical skills and training in an artistic ideal characterized by ancient Greece and Rome. Gradually, the art of the Renaissance and later periods was also included as examples – before the plaster casts finally lost their significance. During the 1900th century, they became symbols of a rigid view of art and almost completely disappeared from teaching.
Today, there is a rediscovery of the role of plaster casts in art history. Both as teaching material and as an expression of changing ideals, they give us a close contact with the artistic experiences of history. The choice of plaster casts used in teaching reflects the flow of visions and traditions – as well as conflicts and discussions – that have constantly shaped art. The exhibition presents the collection with new perspectives and food for thought on the significance of plaster casts.
Photo: Björn Strömfeldt/Art Academy.
The picture was taken when the plaster medallions in Nikehallen were restored in 2021, thanks to support from the Léo Holmgrens Minne Foundation.
CATALOG
Purchased on site at the exhibition
PROGRAM
Public screenings
Saturday, February 24 at 14:00 PM
Location: In the exhibition
Free entry, no pre-registration required
Contraposto
An exploration in dance and movement by the Ballet Academy group Dance for Parkinson's together with students in professional dance education.
Book a viewing!
Are you a group of friends, an association or a company that wants to do something together? Book a viewing of the exhibition and at the same time take the opportunity to have a glass of wine or something else delicious in our café.
Price display:
Daytime 2,000 SEK + VAT 6%
Evenings after 4:30 PM and Saturdays: SEK 3,000 + VAT 6%
Bookings to: helen.karlsson@konstakademien.se
PREVIOUS PROGRAMS
When plaster was luxury
French sculptors and plasterers in Stockholm around 1700.
Date: Wednesday, January 17
Time: at 18:00
Location: The auditorium
Free entry, no pre-registration required
When a new royal palace was to be built in Stockholm, during the last years of the 1600th century and the beginning of the 1700th century, the architect Nicodemus Tessin recruited specialized sculptors from France to decorate the new floors of the palace. It was particularly important that these artists and craftsmen had knowledge of classical plaster ornamentation. It was the finest and most distinguished sign of good taste – good taste – which the Swedish client wanted to manifest with his new castle building.
In this lecture, we will tell Linda Hinners, curator at the National Museum, about the work of the French craftsmen in Stockholm; both the practical aspects of making the plasters and how this prestigious assignment gave them privileged social conditions.
Nike, Michelangelo and Sergel
Lecture by Eva-Lena Bengtsson, former curator of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts' collections, about the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts' use of plaster casts as educational aids and status objects.
Date: Wednesday, January 24
Time: kl. 18: 00
Location: The auditorium
Free entry, no pre-registration required
Historical sculpture in a contemporary context – a conversation about creation and historiography
Conversation between Salad Hilowle, artist, and Svante H Tirén, curator of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts.
New date!
Date: Thursday, January 25
Time: kl. 18: 00
Location: Vimmerby Library
Date: Saturday 20 January
Time: at 14:00
Location: The auditorium
Free entry, no pre-registration required
Meet a conservator!
Conservator Elisabet Tebelius Murén explains and shows how the work of cleaning plaster sculptures is done:
Tuesday, February 6th at 13:00 PM-15:00 PM
Thursday, February 8th at 13:00 PM-15:00 PM
What is ornamentation?
About the history of decorative arts
Lecture and exhibition by Svante H Tirén, curator of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts' collections
When: Wednesday, February 7 at 18:00 PM
Location: Auditorium, floor 2
Free entry, no pre-registration required