The first Swedish sculptor

Before Johan Tobias Sergel (1740-1814) created his works, large sculptures in Sweden were only created by foreign sculptors or imported. Sergel is considered Sweden's first significant sculptor and was internationally famous during his lifetime, similar to the Dane Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) a generation later. The National Museum in Stockholm is dedicating a comprehensive retrospective exhibition to the artist – from his early years in Stockholm in the 1760s, his important study trips to France and Italy, and his impressive sculptures, which he created for Swedish King Gustav III, for example. An important focus of the show is on Sergel's drawings, which, with their humor, gloom, and uncensored eroticism, offer a counterpoint to his classicist sculptures. A total of 400 works are on display in Fantasy and Reality. The Art of Johan Tobias Sergel, including around 70 sculptures. The exhibition runs until August 9.

The contrast between sculpture and drawing also sheds light on the artist as a private individual: Sergel drew tirelessly, and his drawings encompass everything from mythical themes to burlesque caricatures to everyday events. These images reveal the man behind the monumental sculptures for which he was internationally celebrated: an artist who viewed his contemporaries with a sharp eye and warmth. Sergels torg, a public square built in the 1950s in central Stockholm, is named after Sergel, whose studio was once located nearby. His magnum opus is considered to be the bronze statue of Gustav III (1799), which was erected near the Royal Palace in Stockholm and is based on the ancient sculpture Apollo Belvedere. The statue is a 10-minute walk from the National Museum.

In the fall of 2026, a reduced version of the exhibition will be on display at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. This is the first time that Sergel's works of art will be shown in a solo exhibition in the United States.