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| Nils Andersson Heimdal returns the necklace called Brisingamen to Freya 1846 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Vilhelm Rosenstand Outside the Café à Porta, Copenhagen 1882 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
I do not envy you, O holy angels,
For your exalted glory and great blessing,
Nor the fulfillment of your ardent longings
Always to stand before the Face of God,
For my delights are such and so abundant
They cannot be contained in human heart,
While I enjoy the presence of those lights –
The eyes of him I ever praise in song.
And, as in heaven you enjoy refreshment
And life beneath the glory of His Face,
So I, below, in his supernal beauty.
In one sole point do you surpass my joy:
That yours is everlasting and unchanging,
But my delight and glory must soon end.
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| Ernst Josephson Nymph and Faun 1878 oil on panel Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Julius Kronberg Nymph and Fauns 1875 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Jonas Åkerström Venus, Adonis and Cupid before 1795 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Jonas Åkerström Bacchus and Ariadne before 1795 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
I burnt, I wept, I sang – burn, weep and sing,
And I shall weep, burn, sing forever more
(Until Death, Time, or Fortune wash away
My talent, eyes, heart, style, my fire and tears)
The beauty, courage and deep intellect,
Which in a lovely, wises and honored manner,
Love, nature and the highest art have painted
Within the face, breast, heart of my true light
Who – when the sun itself rises or sets,
By night or day, in summer or in winter –
Gives me or takes away darkness or light.
Thus, with my outer or my inner eye
I see in all his acts, manners and words
His splendor, and his sweetness and his grace.
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| Jean-Honoré Fragonard La résistance inutile ca. 1770-80 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| François Boucher Pense t-il aux raisins? 1747 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Nicolas Lancret Fastening the Skate before 1743 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau The Love Lesson before 1721 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Harsh is my fortune, but still harder fate
Is dealt me by my lord; he flees from me.
I follow him, while others pine for me,
But I cannot admire another's face.
I hate the one who loves, love him who scorns me.
Against the humble one, my heart rebels,
But I am humble toward the one who spurns me.
So my soul starves for such a harmful food!
He give me cause for anger every day,
The others try to give comfort and peace.
Those I deny, but cling to my tormentor.
Thus, in your school, O Love, the scholars win
The opposite of that which they deserve:
The humble are despised, the proud are praised.
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| François Lemoyne Venus and Adonis 1729 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Cesar van Everdingen Jupiter and Callisto 1655 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Andrea Camassei Armida abducts Rinaldo before 1649 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Paolo Veronese Venus mourns Adonis before 1588 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
A rare, unheard-of miracle of nature,
But neither rare nor foreign to that Lord
Whom all the world calls by the name of Love,
Who, beyond any measure, conquers all.
The valor of my lord, who steals the honors
From every other gentleman of valor
Is conquered by the sorrow of my heart –
A sorrow that outlasts all other griefs.
As much as he excels all other knights
In handsome form, nobility, and courage,
He is surpassed by my undying faith –
A miracle unheard-of save in love,
A grief no one believes who has not felt it –
Thus, I alone defeat infinity!
– sonnets are by Gaspara Stampa (1523-1554), from Selected Poems, translated by Laura Anna Stortoni and Mary Prentice Lillie (New York: Italica Press, 1994)