Without any particular reason I thought I would post some photos of Rosendal Palace in Stockholm taken this weekend – the small pleasure palace built by Carl XIV Johan all boarded up and sitting peacefully in the snow. Come May the palace will again open its doors, but as for now it seems almost in hibernation. I could add that the new issue of Gård & Torp (no 1-2011) has several pages on Rosendal, with some interesting, detailed interior photos by Ingalill Snitt.
What an exquisitely charming and unpretentious palace. Here in America we have ugly suburban nouveau riche homes that are considerably larger, and entirely lacking the beauty and grace of this finely proportioned edifice.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat for the eyes! Thank you.
Rosendal is obviously influenced by French architecture in the way the building can be said to consist of three linked pavilions, with the major rooms situated in the three pavilions. As such it is a very interesting contrast to the other palace built by Carl XIV Johan, which is more massive in its shape and more influenced by Danish and German architecture (although there were also certain Swedish and Russian influences, as I have recently pointed out in an article). It could be added that Rosendal's architect, Fredrik Blom, invented the transportable house and it is said that Rosendal is in principle also built in such a way that it might be taken apart and moved somewhere else. Perhaps we could call it the world's only transportable palace?
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly for the additional information. I wonder if the interiors are as chaste and restrained as the exterior. Amazing how nobility and taste can be conveyed with fine proportions and minimal details.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it look enchanting under grey skies and a blanket of snow? As if waiting for royal garden and tea parties, and handsomely dressed men and women walking on carpet-like lawns.
No, I would not describe the interiors as chaste and restrained. Compared to the exterior the interiors are surprisingly opulent, in a modified Swedish version of the French empire style (again in contrast to the other Palace Carl Johan built, where the interiors relate to Danish and German empire). At the Royal Palace in Stockholm Carl Johan was surrounded by interiors from earlier epochs, which stressed his place in the line of kings, but at the small palace he had built for his private use he could allow himself to follow the taste of his days. Unfortunately there are very few photos of Rosendal's interiors available online, but the top picture on this website offers a glimpse from the Red Drawing-Room to the other end of the building:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.antikvarlden.se/stilskolan-del-6-empire-och-karl-johan.aspx?article=16728