Johan Sergel’s Sculptures at Stockholm National Museum

Stockholm’s National Museum has a massive exhibit featuring many of Sweden’s most famous sculptures by Johan Tobias Sergel, one of the kingdom’s most beloved artists. I plan to share a few posts about his work, because not only is it technically incredible and so moving, but the way his work is presented at the National Museum was some of the most beautiful exhibits we’ve ever seen.

National Museum

Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Address: Södra Blasieholmshamnen 2
Admission: 160 SEK per Adult,
Free for under 20s
Hours: Variable

Johan Sergel Sculptures

Many of his works of art were inspired by Greek and Roman mythology and the characters therein. Here we see clay sculptures of Psyche and Cupid. Many of his scenes shown here depict the tragic tale of Cupid abandoning Psyche.

In the story, the goddess Venus, Cupid’s mother, orders him to kill Psyche because some of her followers had decided Psyche was more beautiful than the goddess. Instead of obeying his mother, Cupid (Eros) falls in love with and marries Psyche under the condition that she not look at his face. He worried she might only love him because he was a god, not because of who he was. He also worried that if she saw how perfect he was, she would tell her envious sisters, and they would tell his mother that he had disobeyed her. Eventually, after many exceptionally happy ( 😉 ) nights together, poor Psyche understandably grows curious about the loving husband who only visits her in the dark of night.

She lights an oil lamp, curious about the husband to whom she’d given her heart and body, revealing Cupid’s perfection and unintentionally burning him with hot oil. He is forced to leave her, despite her pleading with him to stay and continue loving her. She spends a very long time wandering the world searching for Cupid, hoping to be reunited. Cupid begs Jupiter (Zeus) to make his love immortal so they may be together forever. Psyche proves her love to Zeus’ satisfaction through completing four impossible tasks and is granted eternal life so that the lovers may be together forever.