Exposition Universelle 1889

Overview of the interior of the Palace of Fine Arts, 1889.
Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris 
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

World expos (Exposition Universelle) had been held since 1851. They showcased new technical inventions, construction, science, culture, and art, among other things. Countries and companies participated in the exhibitions. The 1889 World expo was held in Paris. It was open from May 6 to October 31, 1889. There were over 61,000 exhibitors and more than 32 million visitors. Large exhibition halls were built for the event using the latest construction techniques of the time. World expos were mega-events of their time, where new ideas and inventions spread – after all, this was long before the advent of television and the Internet.

Richard Hall participated in the world expo in the section presenting Swedish art. His friend from his student days, Richard Bergh, was the exhibition's commissioner. This explains Hall's participation, even though he had been living in France for almost nine years. The main sources for this blog post are the books Svea folkkalender, 1890 (Svea folk calendar) and Richard Bergh, ett konstnärskall, 2002 (Richard Bergh, artist's vocation). The journalist and writer Johan Christian Janzon, writing under the pseudonym Spada, wrote a report Svenska konsten i Paris 1889 (Swedish art in Paris in 1889) for the following year's edition of Svea folkkalender.

The French Revolution as the theme

The host country had chosen the French Revolution, which had taken place a hundred years earlier, as the theme for the exhibition. As a result, many European monarchies decided not to participate in the Paris World expo. This situation opened up new opportunities for cultural figures in Sweden, as King Oscar II decided that the state would not participate in the World expo.

The artists' organization Konstnärsförbundet was given permission to participate, and Richard Bergh served as the exhibition's commissioner. Konstnärsförbundet was founded by a group of artists known as the Opponents. They were a group of 85 artists who, in 1885, had begun to demand reforms to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. It was therefore an exceptional situation when, four years later, these same artists were given permission to organize the Swedish section of the fine arts at the Paris World expo.

Palace of Fine Arts seen through the base of the Eiffel Tower, 1889
Library of Congress
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Swedish exhibition pavilion

The Palais des Beaux-Arts, dedicated to the visual arts, was located on the Place de Mars. It was part of a complex, the other part of which was called the Palais des Arts Libéraux. The exhibition pavilions were located on both sides of the Eiffel Tower. Both the pavilions and the tower were designed to be temporary structures. The Swedish pavilion was situated on the top floor of the Palais des Beaux-Arts. There were two smaller halls and a few smaller rooms, which had to be hung densely due to lack of space. Judging by the photographs, the works were hung in the same way as in the Paris salons, i.e., the wall surfaces were used efficiently from floor to ceiling.

According to Spada, the first floor was the most crowded, but the second floor had better lighting and a more homely atmosphere. This is where the Dutch, Belgian, US, and Swiss pavilions were located among others. The Swedish pavilion featured at least 38 artists, including Carl Larsson, Richard Bergh, Ernst Josephson, Anders Zorn, Oscar Björck, Hanna Pauli, Georg Pauli, Mina Bredberg, Elisabeth Keyser, Hildegard Thorell, Hugo Salmson, August Hagborg, Allan Österlind, Bruno Liljefors, Georg Arsenius, Alfred Wahlberg, Nils Kreuger, Karl Nordström, Anshelm Schultzberg, Per Ekström, Robert Thegerström, Johan Krouthén, Julia Beck, Carl Skånberg, and Per Hasselberg.

Richard Hall had a work on display at the Swedish pavilion entitled Bretagneska, or Bretons. The Svea folkkalendar report includes pictures of some of the works on display, but not Hall's painting. So for now, we know nothing about it other than its name. However, Spada briefly mentions Hall's painting. He describes it shortly: “Hall's unaffectedly produced, robust Bretons.”

Carl Larsson: Rococo - Renaissance - Contemporary art, 1888 - 1889
Gothenburg Museum of Art
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Spada's assessment of the Swedish section

The report reflects the decline of academic art. Spada writes that with a few exceptions, there was no 'great' painting, i.e., historical or decorative art, in the Swedish section. Carl Larsson's triptych Rococo, Renaissance, Contemporary Art was one of them. According to Spada “People want authenticity in art, as in literature and theater, and they are offended if someone dares to paint a gentleman from the 16th century wearing a hat à la Louis XIII."
 

Spada thinks that genre painting, known as a subgenre of academic art, was also undergoing change. He notes that genre paintings depicting people used to tell a story, but now they could capture a simple moment or mood. Overall, Spada concludes from the world exhibition that historical painting was on the wane and that the Swedish pavilion was at the forefront of new art. In his view, the Swedish pavilion had the most acute ambition to bring nature to life and depict the world in which we live.

According to the book Richard Bergh, ett konstnärskall, the Swedish pavilion received much praise, and its artists received a total of 25 medals and 15 honorable mentions. The exhibition was therefore a victory for Swedish free art, and its success proved that it was at the forefront of modern art.