The starting point of the thesis consists of a number of statements by prominent representatives of the cultural elite characterising architecture with references to classicism as the modern architecture. In the following years Swedish architecture was dominated by references to classical historical architecture focussing on the ideal of simplicity, which in turn formed a wider conceptual framework of ideas and ideals for architectural creation. The simple reason why the classical historical architecture became something of a role model was that it represented all these new ideals. The main purpose of the thesis is to study how architects made use of the more prominent ideals in the new conceptual framework. A secondary purpose is to describe and analyse the three chosen buildings in detail. A third purpose is to situate these buildings into the broader national context. The buildings under study are Liljevalchs konsthall (Liljevalchs Art Gallery), Kanslihuset (The Government Offices) and Kungstornen (The Towers). They were built at different times between 1910 and 1930. Each building has an obvious connection between the building program and the social changes of the time. In the first chapter the contemporary conceptual framework is presented based on examples from the architectural debate. The most important parts were the opposition to the traditional ideals in combination with the formulating of new ones like simplicity, unity and clarity as well as an orientation towards the historical national architecture and an open attitude towards new techniques. Central to the usage of the basic of elements of the historical architecture was transformation rather than imitation. The common view meant that role models and basic creational elements of the past were regarded as opportunities for new developments. The three following chapters examine the buildings under study. The buildings and their planning processes are described and the application of the historical references and their relations to historical buildings in the environment are analysed in detail. The buildings are further discussed in relation to the broader social trends of the time. The Art Gallery is discussed in view of its connections to the contemporary industrial architecture due to the industrialisation. The analysis of the Government Offices situates the practical and symbolic aspects of the building in the contemporary struggle between the monarchy and the old civil service and the newly established parliamentary democracy. The Towers are discussed in relation to the contemporary discussion of skyscrapers in Europe and in relation to the beginning of commercialism and popular culture. / <p>QC 20120424</p>

This master thesis explores the image of Japan in the artistic creations during Japonism in Sweden. Japan and Sweden first started trading in 1868 and knowledge about Japan in Sweden were limited at best. With the emergence of the Western art movement known as Japonism, ranging from 1858 to 1914, fascination for the unknown country grew in Europe. As the art movement Japonism became the first era of interest of Japan in Sweden, the portrayal and subsequent image of the country that emerged during this time is of interest to examine, as to better understand how Japan was imagined by Sweden. Herein, this study aims to analyse the portrayal of Japan in artworks from Swedish artists during Japonism in order to examine what components and ideas composed the image of Japan conveyed during Japonism. A collection of visual artworks depicting Japanese elements, based on Japonism associated artists and creators, have been collected using digital archives and databases to assess what is depicted and how by the creators. Japanese elements, such as objects, clothes, people and landscapes were subsequently analysed using a visual analysis based on researcher Jules David Prown’s three-step method of analysing historical objects. Using the concept of the image, as defined by scholar Torsten Burgman, as the basis of the analysis the depictions of Japanese elements are examined and categorised into several larger and smaller components. The examination is conducted within a framework of ethnocentrism and orientalism to contextualise the image of Japan with the thought structures in 19th century Sweden, as the creators portrayed Japan from both a Swedish and Western Eurocentric colonial perspective. As the source material is artistic depictions, an additional aesthetic framework was applied to contextualise the image of Japan with its artistic medium. Four major image components were found in the material: Japan presented as a commodity; Japanese things as something feminine; Japan as something faraway and exotic, contrasting the West; and Japan as a reference or commentary on the ongoing Japonism movement. The image of Japan found in these depictions of Swedish Japonism was a Eurocentric and ethnocentric understanding of the country. Japan and Japanese things, were imagined as something exotic and beautiful, and usually conveyed as exotic commercial flair for Western women.