Walking amongst the antique - views of Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities, by Pehr Hilleström, circa 1795-96

The Gallery of the Muses of the Royal Museum, the Royal Palace, Stockholm.

Gustav III was almost forty when he made "le grand tour", a journey usually made by gentlemen - and occasionally kings - who had only recently attained their majority. His trip lasted from September 1783 to August 1784, approximately half of which time was spent in Italy. Even though he travelled incognito as the Count of Haga, it was well understood that the Swedish King would be shopping, that he was a prospective buyer of marble sculptures and art objects. 

On New Year's Day in 1784, the king and his entourage were shown the collection of ancient sculptures in the Vatican, Museo Pio Clementino; their guide was no less than Pope Pius VI himself. The visit to the papal Gallery of Muses was the inspiration for Gustav's acquisitions of ancient statues and their later exhibition after his death in 1792. 

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 The Inner Gallery of the Royal Museum, the Royal Palace, Stockholm.

The purveyors of antiquities in Italy at the time were usually far from reluctant to pass off over-restored and cobbled-together pieces to their eager clientele. If the Swedish king was on the hunt for an Apollo or a particular muse, for example, one would be found - one way or another. The dealers and their "restorers" were adept at adding an identifying attribute to an existing statute, piecing together a whole sculpture from unrelated parts, and were very skillful in disguising breaks and joins and additions.

The resulting collection was intended for the king's planned palace in Haga, but when the work - a few hundred objects, both sculptures and vases - arrived in Stockholm, it was first installed in the state rooms of Stockholm's royal palace. Sweden had previously had a dearth of classical sculpture, and limited access to the collection was granted to some artists and upper-class amateurs.

I wasn't as lucky as I was with the other images and, sadly, was unable to find a larger image of this painting from which to extract further details.

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There are two other versions of Hilleström's view of the Inner Gallery; the viewpoint is the same, but the figures are positioned differently.

When Gustav III died in March of 1792, two weeks following an assassination attempt, it was only three months later that the government decided to establish a museum in the palace, dedicated to antiquities and in tribute to the dead king "for his efforts as a protector of art in his lifetime." The northeast palace wing was designated as the location for the new museum; the collection is still displayed there today. It was one of northern Europe's first art museums, and named "the Royal Museum," though it was actually public property belonging to the Swedish State.

As the brushwork is much looser - sketchier -  it's possible that the two alternate version are preparatory studies.

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The second alternate version pictures a coffered ceiling vault. Perhaps planned, the coffering was never carried out; was Hilleström getting ahead of himself...?

During the nineteenth century, though, many changes occurred. First, modern sculpture was included in the displayed work. And around 1840 the smaller Inner Gallery began to be used for exhibiting oil paintings and the décor was changed. As the full art collection grew it was decided to transfer the collection to the new National Museum. The former rooms of the Royal Museum were taken over by the Royal Library and then, until 1906, the Royal Armory collection.

In this third variation, the foreground figures are of a noticeably larger proportion.

Finally, in the 1950s, the decision was made to return Gustav III's collection of antiquities to their original home, and in 1958 the museum opened its doors to the public, now under the name Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities. The renovation carried out in the 1950s related mainly to the large gallery and the Gallery of the Muses, not the entire museum. But in 1992, in conjunction with the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the museum's inauguration, a full restoration of the original Royal Museum was carried out.

The objects in the collection, with the exception of their additions, are of classical origin and most of the larger statues are fairly free Roman interpretations of Greek models. And as is common practice with similar historical sculpture collections, the additions and restorations made during the eighteenth century have not been removed.

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Pehr Hilleström (18 November 1732, Väddö  – 13 August 1816, Stockholm), Swedish artist who also served as a professor and director at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He first studied with the landscape artist Johan Philip Korn, and then received training at the Royal Academy from artist Guillaume Taraval and architect Jean Eric Rehn. Between 1757 and 1758, he studied abroad, traveling to Paris, Belgium, and The Netherlands. In 1773, he became a member of the board of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, in 1805 he received the post of vice-chancellor of the academy, and in 1810 he became its director. He was the father of the artist Carl Petter Hilleström (1760–1812), and his descendants included the author and museum curator, Gustaf Hilleström.

Precious versatility - devant de corsage / brooch and two pendants, circa 1860

 

Auctioned at Sotheby's Geneva in May of 2025, the lot description mentioned nothing more than the pearl being natural, saltwater; the emerald being Columbian; and that the devant de corsage / brooch was from an "Important Private Collection." It was given a date of circa 1860, but no country of origin or possible maker was mentioned. There was this catalogue note: The brooch possesses extraordinary characteristics that merit special mention and appreciation. Assembling a natural pearl and an emerald in a brooch of such impressive antique design can be considered rare and exceptional.

Les « autres » Folies - Joséphine Baker in America, "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936"

 

In costume for "Five A.M."

In costume for "Maharanee (At the Night Races in Paris)."

In costume for "The Conga."

The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 was a musical revue with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, music by Vernon Duke, and sketches by Gershwin and David Freedman. It premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre on 30 January 1936 and closed on 9 May 1936 after one hundred and fifteen performances. It was produced by Ziegfeld's widow Billie Burke and Lee and Jacob Shubert, and directed by John Murray Anderson and Edward Clarke Lilley. The choreography was by Robert Alton, with ballets directed by George Balanchine. Scenic design and costumes were by Vincente Minnelli, with additional costumes by Raoul Pène Du Bois. In addition to Baker, the cast starred Fanny Brice, Bob Hope, Eve Arden, Judy Canova, Gertrude Niesen, June Preisser, and the Nicholas Brothers. But Brice was the star of the production, dominating the show to such a degree that when she became ill in May, the production closed, at which point Baker took the option to terminate her contract. Four months later the musical returned to the Winter Garden Theatre, with Brice reprising her roles and with additional cast members, including Gypsy Rose Lee who took Baker's place in the conga; her other numbers were dropped. The production only continued for another three months, closing on 19 December 1936 after an additional one hundred and twelve performances. 

"The Conga."

Baker performed three numbers in the show. The first had a "tropical" setting. Gertrude Niesen sang of the "West Indies," and Baker appeared garbed in a strange and spiky silver costume, a vague sort of tribute to her former banana girdle. She proceeded to dance a conga with male dancers, knocking them over one by one. In her second appearance she sang the Duke/Gershwin song "Maharanee (At the Night Races in Paris)" while wearing a sari. The tempo of the number started as a one-step, transitioned to a waltz, and finished as a tango with Baker executing a wordless coloratura passage, ending on an eight bar sustained high B flat. In her final number, "Five A.M.," she wore a gown of gold mesh; its designer, Vincente Minnelli, claimed it weighed almost a hundred pounds. He also gave her a plum-colored ostrich cape, which choreographer Balanchine had her drag across the floor before the ballet, proper, began.

"Maharanee (At the Night Races in Paris)."

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By the middle of the 1930s Joséphine Baker was firmly established as one of France's brightest stars, and she had high hopes of furthering the great success she'd experienced with the French when she was engaged to be in the starry cast of the 1936 revival of the "Ziegfeld Follies" on Broadway. She sailed on the Normandie to New York in August of 1935 in order to begin rehearsals. But right from the beginning, she had to fight the sort of racism she rarely encountered in Europe; she was turned away from the hotel where she had reserved rooms, as the management didn't want to offend their Southern clientele. 

And even before the show opened, her talents were being widely disparaged in the press, and she had to endure insulting comments and behavior due to her race. Time magazine referred to her as a "Negro wench ... whose dancing and singing might be topped anywhere outside of Paris", while other critics said her voice - accustomed to the more intimate French music hall settings, half the size of the Broadway venue - was "too thin" and "dwarf-like" to fill the Winter Garden Theatre. She was even criticized for being too sophisticated - too "continental" - for a black woman in America in 1936. I reaction to all this, she openly compared America unfavorably with France, and spoke French whenever possible, further alienating her critics.

One month after the opening of the Follies, and as something of a rebuttal to and rebellion against the attacks, Baker opened her own after-theater club, Chez Joséphine Baker, in what during the day was an elegant restaurant, Le Mirage. Backed by an orchestra and accompanied by three chorus boys, she danced and sang in English and French, recreating the sort of excitement her Parisian performances had always provided. It was a great success, attracting a sophisticated, cosmopolitan crowd. Even so, most of the New York press continued their hostile commentary.

 

In the midst of all this, Paul Derval, the director of the Folies Bergère, arrived with a contract for his upcoming season. So when Fanny Brice fell ill in May, Baker terminated her contract, and arrived back in Paris in June to cheering crowds. En Super Folies opened in October and ran well into 1937; it was a triumph and a much needed validation of her talents. She had returned to France heartbroken by her experiences in America, and with her marriage to a French industrialist in October 1937, she became a French citizen. In later years she refused to ever talk about her engagement with the Ziegfeld Follies.

Nearly all of the portraits here were taken by Murray Korman, his studio signature clearly evident. Korman (16 March 1902 – 10 August 1961) was a New York "publicity photographer" who made his reputation with his glamorous "Hollywood style" portraits. His clients ranged from showgirls to famous entertainers to members of "cafe society." The images of Baker, taken both in the costumes she wore in the production and wearing other lavish gowns, were made to promote her appearance in the Follies; she would go on to use the portraits for several years after.

Except... these three, taken Joseph Abeles (circa 1908-1991), who established his Talbot Studio, specializing in theatrical portraiture, in 1935. 

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Brooks Atkinson, New York Times review of 31 January 1936

Any one interested in an evening of good entertainment may be glad to hear about the 1936 edition of the "Ziegfeld Follies," which opened at the Winter Garden last night under the protection of the Messrs. Shubert. Following an honorable tradition of showmanship, it provides a jovial and handsome song-and-dance festival, glorifying the Broadway tempo and style. Vincente Minnelli, who decorated "At Home Abroad," has burst into the Winter Garden with a whole portfolio of original splendors. Without being in the least sensational, he has managed this season to reanimate the art of scenic display and costumery. Although he is lavish enough to satisfy any producer's thirst for opulence, his taste is unerring and the "Follies" that comes off his drawing-board is a civilized institution. Even the mediocre numbers, of which there are the usual number, look well when Mr. Minnelli dresses them.

If the 1936 edition offered nothing but Fannie Brice, most of us would feel sufficiently grateful. Fannie has been such a good sport for so many years that it is difficult as well as superfluous to attempt to separate the affection she has bred from the downright, wholesome enjoyment she supplies. Here you will see her up to all sorts of flamboyant, Bricean mischief—stretching her mobile mouth a hundred different ways to draw comedy out of her material, rolling those eloquent eyes, fairly engulfing the whole show. The coarse elegance she contrives for the upper-class English of Ira Gershwin's "Fancy Fancy," the infuriating temperament she puts into "Baby Snooks Goes Hollywood" and the grotesqueness of her burlesque of revolutionary dancing ("Rewolt," she screams with her wicked eyes crossed)-are Fannie in top form. She has a capital partner in Bob Hope, who is gentleman enough to be a comrade and comedian enough to be funny on his own responsibility. In fact, most of the principals are well met in the current “Follies." Hugh O'Connell is one of our most expansive merry-andrews and Eve Arden has an alert sense of humor. Here and there throughout the show the clowns satirize government spending, the grandiose promotion of super-specials from Hollywood, and amateur night on the radio. Without being devastatingly funny, the sketches are neatly written and they are acted in the highest good humor.

One major disappointment must be bluntly chronicled. After her cyclonic career abroad Josephine Baker has become a celebrity who offers her presence instead of her talent. They have given her ravishing settings, effulgent gowns or practically no costume at all, which is an improvement, but her singing voice is only a squeak in the dark and her dancing is only the pain of an artist. Miss Baker has refined her art until there is nothing left in it. When the two Nicholas Brothers follow her with some excellent Harlem hoofing out of the Bill Robinson curriculum they restore your faith in dusky revelry. As a matter of fact, this "Follies" has a good many light feet. Cherry and June Preisser and Duke McHale can patter a mean dog or two. And Harriet Hoctor, the phantom ballerina, has been drawn under the old "Follies" canopy again to disclose a bit of stirring surrealist imagery, and to give you an affecting suggestion of the beauty of flying at night.

Something particularly cordial should be said for Stan Kavanagh's exuberant juggling. He is a working trouper at one of the oldest music hall turns, but his skill and his humor make juggling one of the most hilarious pleasures of the evening. Vernon Duke has written some tunes, which are probably all right, and Gertrude Niesen sings most of them with a cloudy voice suggesting an oboe with a cold, and probably that is all right, too. Probably Ogden Nash's "The Voice of Friendship" sketch and Eve Arden's description of "The Economic Situation" as It affects amour are legitimate revue staples. Even if you are surly and feel cross about them, they matter very little in comparison with the beauty and hospitality of the new "Follies." John Murray Anderson has translated the many materials into a flowing entertainment. Show business always seems mighty cozy when Fannie Brice is galumphing around the stage.

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From the playbill.

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And let me end all this with a alternate print of my favorite of these images, Baker in her "Maharanee" sari.