Kronbergs «Jaktnymf« och dess mottagande av kritiken

Abstract

Summary When Julius Kronberg's Nymph and Fauns (1875) was first shown at the Nationalmuseum in 1876 it aroused enthusiasm and indignation. The painting can be regarded as a central Swedish work in the pompous style introduced by Hans Makart and the Munich School. “The Nymph” is an artificially constructed picture belonging to a world that bears little relation to reality. However, the composition and the colour scale, which is rich and brilliant, create a festive atmosphere. According to the story, Diana and her nymphs were resting after the hunt by a lake in the woods when they were surprised by lusty fauns. Fauns were fashionable at that time, in literature as well as in art. The model on which modern nude painting is based is Correggio's Jupiter and Antiope (fig. 2) in the Louvre, a painting that Kronberg must certainly have seen, for both his colour study and the finished “Nymph” contain echoes of Correggio's picture. The theme is also reminiscent of Susannah and the Elders, a motif that was painted b...