I och med motsättningar i svensk lagstiftning uppstår det intressekonflikter mellan bevarandet och tillgängliggörandet av det byggda kulturarvet. Trots detta har Sverige lyckats bra med att modernisera många av sina kulturhistoriska fastigheter, där man arbetat för att respektera både byggnad och brukare. Dock finns det fortfarande, 20 år efter de juridiska bestämmelserna om tillgängliga miljöer, fortfarande offentliga byggnader som inte kan, på ett värdigt sätt, besökas av en rullstolsburen. Hur kommer det sig? Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att granska processen kring att tillgänglighetsgöra kulturhistoriskt värdefulla byggnader. Målet har varit att identifiera brister i processen, det vill säga få en förståelse för varför vissa byggnader misslyckas med att anpassas. Vidare har undersökningen haft som avsikt att belysa eventuella hierarkier mellan bevarande av kulturvärden och anpassning efter moderna behov. Undersökningen bygger på en teori- och litteraturstudie samt en flerfallsstudie bestående av tre granskade byggnader: Stockholms stadshus, Thielska galleriet och riksdagshuset. Samtliga tre byggnader har på olika sätt inte tillgänglighetsanpassats på ett värdigt sätt. Den inledande teori- och litteraturstudien bygger på att få en förståelse för det svenska kulturmiljöarbetet, för att sedan sätta det i relation till funktionshinderspolitiken och därpå identifiera de intressekonflikter som finns. Resultatet visar att bristerna i processen kring att tillgängliggöra kulturhistoriska miljöer skiljer sig åt från fall till fall, men den övergripande problematiken handlar om förvaltning och komplicerade samarbeten över verksamhetsgränser. Konservativa intressen och rädslan för förändring sätter även käppar i hjulen för tillgängliggörandet av kulturarvet. Frågor som reversibilitetens inverkan på kulturarvet och anpassningens plats i restaureringshistorian har uppstått under arbetets gång.   Till följd av undersökningens resultat framgår det att samarbetet mellan myndigheter och andra aktörer som hanterar kulturarvet är i dagsläget komplext och bidrar till långa beslutsprocesser. Vidare bör man arbeta för att motsätta sig konflikten mellan bevarande och modernisering. / Contradistinction in the Swedish legislation evoces conflicts of interest between the preservation and modernisation of the cultural heritage. Sweden has, despite this complex question, succeeded in many ways to make its historically building accessible for disabled people, where the changes being made are respectful towards both the building and the user. However, regardless of the jurisdictional regulations, there are still important public buildings which cannot, in a dignified way, be visited by a person in a wheelchair. How come? The purpose of this essay has been to review the process of making historically valuable buildings accessible for disabled people. The objective has been to identify deficiencies of the process, that is, understand why certain buildings are unable to be made accessible. Furthermore, the study aims to elucidate hierarchies between the preservation of cultural values and the adaptation of modern needs. The study is composed of a literature study and a case study consisting of three scrutinized buildings: Stockholm City Hall, Thielska galleriet and Riksdagshuset (the parliament building). All of the three buildings have not been made accessible in a dignified way. The introductory theory and literature study is meant to gain an understanding of the Swedish care taking of the cultural heritage, and juxtaposing it to the policy of accessibility in public buildings. The result shows that the deficiencies in the process of making cultural-historical environments acces-sible vary from case to case, but the overall problem is about management and complicated workflow. Conservative interests and the fear of modernization also obstructs the process of making the cultural heritage accessible. Issues such as the impact of reversibility on cultural heritage have arisen during the course of writing this essay. The study shows that the collaboration between authorities surveying the cultural heritage is complex and contributes to difficulties in the decision-making. Efforts should furthermore be made to undertake the conflict between conservation and modernization.

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.

This study investigates the perceptual effect of ceiling painting on the viewer in relation to spatiality. Three case studies have been conducted of ceiling paintings by Johan Sylvius from 1690, Karl XI's gallery at Drottningholm Palace; Karl Axel Pehrson Transfigurata from 1978, at Thielska Gallery; and by Malin Gabriella Nordin from 2021, at the restaurant Ricordi, all in Stockholm Sweden. The objects represent ceiling paintings with different mediums, pictorial expressions, and motifs. This study presents how ceiling painting's formal and aesthetic structures and mechanisms activate the viewer's perception and performative action. Together with the room, these elements shape the viewer's overall experience of the ceiling painting and the spaciousness. The perceptual influence takes place in interaction with the individual's subjective psychological make up, which filters the mentally and physically perceived information. This means that each individual's experience is characterized by subjective perceptions: the same colour, expression or form can generate different impressions in different individuals – depending on the individual's previous experience with similar elements. The aim is not to find a common experience, but to track which elements and how they activate the viewer. These elements are the ceiling painting's internal and external factors, which activate the senses and shapes the viewer's movements in the room. Sensations together with the viewer's choreography create an overall experience within the viewer. The thesis in the essay postulates that these structures and mechanisms are conditioned in the ceiling painting's particular placement in the inner ceiling of the room, its materiality and spatial relationship. The perceptual impact is the initial awareness of the art, before the intellectual, ceiling painting is not sought to be interpreted but to be experienced. Most of the research in the visual arts and especially on ceiling painting is devoted primarily to narratology, the narrative content. The purpose of the essay is therefore to highlight ceiling painting as an art form and shed light on its perceptual impact on the viewer and the spatiality, as an introductory part to the subsequent intellectual interpretations. This pre-narratological stage conveys both the sensuous potential of the ceiling painting itself, and knowledge that can contribute with extensions of the narratological content.