This bachelor thesis evolves around the topic of art collectors as a phenomenon throughout different centuries. Ernest Thiel was a Swedish art collector at the turn of- and early 20th- century. Tom Böttiger is a contemporary art collector who acquired his first artwork during the 80’s. Both collectors are more like than alike, which points to and enforces certain common stereotypes as to whom could be a collector and what kinds of collectors exist. This thesis compares those two collectors from different times, from an art collectors perspective. The thesis concluded that collectors often bring upon themselves to act as patrons for the artists, both by promoting and purchasing their works, but also by aiding them financially.

This essay aims to examine whether the Swedish patron Ernest Thiel had any aesthetic influence on the contemporary art scene in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Based on a selected group of his commissioned artworks, the study analyzes to what extent Thiel was involved in the creative process. The applied method consists of Panofsky’s iconographical- iconological method, a study of primary sources and literature of art history, and a contextual analysis based on Anne D’Alleva’s theory. The chosen method shows that Ernest Thiel was not engaged in the creative process of his commissioned artworks. Correspondence between Thiel and the commissioned artist reveal that Thiel acted more as afinancial patron, leaving the aesthetics to the artist. Rather than providing his own artistic directives, the intention with his commissioned artworks suggests that his aim was to promote and encourage the artists’ own sense of style. Furthermore, this act of patronage illustrates his genuine appreciation for the artist he supported. This study also exposes the lack of knowledge of the portrait “Porträtt av Hjalmar Söderberg” and the artistry of Gerda Wallander, from whom Thiel commissioned his artwork. The study therefore suggests further research of Gerda Wallander’s artistry as well as of Ernest Thiel’s commissioned artworks, since this is uncharted territory in art history.