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Tonight, Nicoline greeted me with “Are you mad at me?” We were at her place for dinner and, apparently, she was worried after she’d written to the local paper about them possibly using me to entertain their readership with my Trosa observations. Of course, I wasn’t mad. Instead, I was looking forward to a night of good food and entertainment from her four grandsons. Not to mention her kids as well.
Actually, it was originally going to be Mirinda, Nicoline and me but dinner was gatecrashed by Lena and David, Erich and Maria, and the boys, of course. And what fun it was. A glimpse into a Swedish home life we would otherwise never know about. We had a great time. And, I think that the girls did too.
And, thanks to David, we had a glimpse into the workings of modern railway timetabling and Lena told us that an exploding uterus is not a regular thing, though she added that she wasn’t that knowledgeable when it came to canine medicine.
And, while I’m dispensing thanks, I owe a big one to regular subscriber, Neil. He suggested that I try Google lens to try and identify the painting from yesterday. I’d used a few search options, including reverse image search but found nothing. Then, this morning, I tried lens and it proved very fruitful. So, thank you, Neil!
And, it seems that Admiral Overdressed was actually King Oscar II. The painting was a copy by Carl Gabriel Wadell, who did a few portraits of the king. Carl was, primarily, a copyist. He managed a fair few copies of Oscar II and sold them to all manner of places.
The thing is, though, who painted the original that Wadell, presumably, copied? And why is Oscar II hanging in the Stadshotell?
I might be able to answer the second question. There is a royal residence near us, (Tullgarns Slott) and it’s entirely possible that the Stadshotell bought the painting at some point following or because of a visit by the King.
Incidentally, Oscar II, somewhat unexpectedly, spelled his name in the Anglo fashion rather than the more expected ‘Oskar’.
But, back to Wadell, who also copied the famous Bringing Home the Body of King Karl XII of Sweden (1884) by Gustaf Cederström (1845–1933). The original is quite magnificent and hangs in the National Museum in Stockholm. I know. I’ve seen it.
I saw it and snapped it back in July 2021, the first time I visited the National in Stockholm. It is very big. The label reads:
“The scene stretches panorama-like across a snowy mountain landscape. A column of troops winds its way to the horizon. The uniforms and arms are accurately depicted, but the scene as a whole is a fantasy. Karl XII’s body was not carried on an open bier, but in a coffin pulled on a wagon. The artist has combined the return of the body with the story of General Armfeldt’s disastrous retreat across the Jämtland mountains.”
Wadell’s copy isn’t quite as enigmatic and King Karl has a smaller head. In fact, I think the painting overall is almost cartoonish. However, given it’s a copy of a fantasy, it has hidden depths.
Still, Wadell was clearly very good at what he did, and his works have now become valuable on their own terms.
But what of Oscar II?
Well, he was King of Sweden 1872–1907 and King of Norway 1872–1905. He was King during the Dissolution of the Union in 1905, when Norway was given back to the Norwegians. He was also well travelled but, according to Lord Palmerston (1789-1865), PM of Britain a few times, he didn’t speak very good English.
He joined the Swedish navy at the age of ten and was made a Commander aged 23 then a Rear-Admiral three years later, seeing action in the Crimean War. This, of course, was back when people in high office and the royalty actually went to war rather than boast about it from the safety of home.
Which brings me back to our after dinner discussions tonight which, along with railway timetables and Freya’s internal organs, included the current war situation in the Middle East and the health status of a current US president, who may, or may not, be nothing more than an AI projection.
Oh, and at the risk of bringing this joyous and revelatory post down, I sadly have to report that Nicholas Brendon, the actor best known for playing Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died. He was 54.
