Most Lovely at Dusk

The name of this exhibition is from the first line of a poem by Pär Lagerkvist in 1919, which captures a key aspect of Nordic painting at the turn of the century, when dusk and dawn were popular themes in all forms of art. This fascination for the singular Nordic light is reflected in Ernest and Signe Maria Thiel’s art collection, which is dominated by symbolist and national romantic mood paintings of landscapes, often from the home regions of the artists.

The works portray the point of change; twilight ends the day and borders on night, or death, while dawn looks ahead to a new day and a new beginning. These transient phases were appreciated by symbolists, who often dwelled on pivotal events in the cycle of time and nature. Autumn and spring were favourite motifs for the same reason, along with opposites such as day and night, life and death. These subjects are also richly represented in the Thiel Gallery collection.

As autumn turns to winter, the Thiel Gallery’s first hundred years as a museum come to an end. As we embark on a new century, we are highlighting the twilight and sunrise paintings that are so characteristic of this place. Works from the collection in various techniques by artists such as Richard Bergh, Nils Kreuger and Karl Nordström, their colleagues and students at Konstnärsförbundet (Artist’s Association), and some of their Nordic contemporaries, are complemented by a few borrowed pieces. The entire Thiel Gallery will be bathed in exquisite dim light, revealing the special heightened moods of nature mysticism that inspired artists of that period.