Vädersolstavlan
Encyclopedia
is an oil-on-panel
painting
depicting a halo
display, an atmospheric
optical phenomenon
, observed over Stockholm
on April 20, 1535. It is named after the sun dog
s appearing on the upper right part of the painting. While chiefly noted for being the oldest depiction of Stockholm in colour, it is arguably also the oldest Swedish landscape painting and the oldest depiction of sun dogs.
The original painting, which was produced shortly after the event and traditionally attributed to Urban Målare
("Urban [the] Painter"), is lost, and virtually nothing is known about it. However, a copy from 1636 by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
held in Storkyrkan
in Stockholm, is believed to be an accurate copy and was until recently erroneously thought to be the restored original. It was previously covered by layers of brownish varnish, and the image was hardly discernible until carefully restored and thoroughly documented in 1998–1999.
The painting was produced during an important time in Swedish history
. The establishment of modern Sweden coincided with the introduction of Protestantism
and the break-up with Denmark
and the Kalmar Union
. The painting was commissioned by the Swedish reformer Olaus Petri
, and the resulting controversies between him and King Gustav Vasa
and the historical context remained a well-kept secret for centuries. During the 20th century the painting became an icon for the history of Stockholm
, and it is now frequently displayed whenever the history of the city is commemorated.
in the late Middle Ages
. The medieval urban conglomeration, today part of the old town Gamla stan
, is rendered using a bird's-eye view
. The stone and brick buildings are densely packed below the church
and castle
, which are rendered in a descriptive perspective (i.e., their size relates to their social status, rather than their actual dimensions). Scattered wooden structures appear on the surrounding rural ridges, today part of central Stockholm. Though the phenomenon is said to have occurred in the morning, the city is depicted in the evening with shadows facing east.
The wooden panel measures 163 by 110 centimetres (64 by 43 inches) and is composed of five vertical deals (softwood planks) reinforced by two horizontal dovetail battens. The battens, together with the rough scrub plane
d back, have effectively reduced warping to a minimum and the artwork is well-preserved, with only insignificant fissures and attacks by insects. A dendrochronological
examination of the panel by doctor Peter Klein at the Institute für Holzbiologie in Hamburg determined that it is made of pine
deals (Pinus silvestris
), the annual rings of which date from various periods ranging from the 1480s to around 1618. The painting can therefore date no further back than around 1620. This is consistent with the year 1636 given on the frame and mentioned in the parish accounts.
The dye
, covering a semi-transparent red-brownish bottom layer, is emulsion paint containing linseed oil
. The painting was apparently painted detail by detail as no under-painting or preparatory sketches have been discovered, except for marks at the centres of the biggest circles indicating that compasses
were used. As a result of this, the horizon tilts to the right; an x-ray
analysis has shown that the painter tried to compensate for this tilt by altering various elements in the painting, including mountains added along the horizon and the gently leaning spires of the church and the castle. A narrow unpainted border has been left around the image.
No prototypes for the painting are known in Sweden, and while the painting is occasionally associated with the Danube school
, much about its stylistic and iconographic
history remains to be investigated. A possible stylistic prototype is the illustrated Bible of Erhard Altdorfer
(brother of the more famous Albrecht Altdorfer
). Begun in 1530, it was inspired by the works of Cranach
and Dürer
, but also renewed the genre by combining commonplace details with an undertone of approaching disaster. In particular, Altdorfer's apocalyptic
illustrations for the Revelation to John
deliver an evangelic message similar to that of the Vädersolstavlan. Historical documents show that Olaus Petri, who commissioned the painting, combined biblical quotations related to the Apocalypse with the painting hanging in the church. Copies of Erhard Altdorfer's apocalyptic woodcuts may have been available in Stockholm through the German merchant Gorius Holste who lived by Järntorget
square and who was a friend of both Petri and Martin Luther
.
In Albrecht Altdorfer
's The Battle of Alexander at Issus
, one of the most famous paintings produced by the Danube School, a composition similar to Vädersolstavlan renders the battle scene in a detailed landscape under a sky crowded with celestial symbols and messages. Just as in Vädersolstavlan, the view is not depicted as it would really appear, but is rather a composite of factual elements as known by the artist. In The Battle of Alexander at Issus the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Africa, and the Nile River are represented as known from contemporary maps, while the knights and soldiers are dressed in 16th century armours and the battle is depicted as retold in sources from Antiquity. The frame suspended over the scene, a device which appears in many other German Renaissance
battle scenes, is mirrored by the 17th century inscription in Vädersolstavlan. In both paintings, Apocalyptic symbols in the sky are given a contemporary political significance. The realistically rendered sky, light, and clouds, in both paintings, are emblematic of the Danube School.
The lost original painting is attributed to Urban Målare
by tradition. However, historical sources and other works of art from the early Vasa Era are rare, and this attribution is apparently doubtful. Furthermore, as the extant painting has proven to be a 17th century copy, and not as previously believed a restored original, a credible corroboration is unlikely to ever be produced.
In the parish accounts, the painting is first mentioned in 1636, at which time a "M. Jacob Conterfeyer" was recorded as having "renewed the painting hanging on the northern wall". Modern scholarship has convincingly identified Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
(1600–1664), guild master from 1628 and court painter of Queen Maria Eleonora
from 1634, as the artist responsible. Based on the brief note referencing the painting's "renewal" in 1636, it was long assumed that the extant painting was in fact the original from 1535, and that the work performed on it in the 17th century was little more than restoration of some kind. However, when the painting was taken down in mid-October 1998 to allow a group of experts from various fields to restore and document it, this notion had to be completely reassessed. A dendrochronological
investigation showed that the wood used for the panel came from trees cut down in the early 17th century: the painting in question must therefore be a copy and not the restored original.
Notwithstanding the excellent state of the wooden panel prior to its 1998 restoration, the painting was unevenly covered with layers of dust and yellowed varnish. This was particularly pronounced in the area of the sky, obscuring many fine details and altering this area's colouring. Once these layers were removed, it was discovered that the original grey-blue sky had been repainted with broad strokes of a deep blue dye mixed with a fixing agent. An analysis of the blue pigments in the painting showed that the original blue colour, still discernible as a bright line above the horizon, was composed of azurite
, while the blue pigment in more superficial layers was true ultramarine
or lapis lazuli
. The ultramarine layer has been identified as prussian blue
, a pigment which was favoured from the early 18th century onwards. Additional alteration of the painting is well attested in parish accounts; the painting was "varnished and somewhat restored" by the painter Aline Bernard (1841–1910) in 1885, and a second time in 1907 by a Nils Janzon. The latter restoration was probably limited to the addition of a thick layer of varnish.
When the painting was thus copied in the 17th century from the 16th century original, the painting was furnished with a Baroque
frame carrying a heart-shaped cartouche
. This cartouche displayed the message:
in Latin, repeated in Swedish and German
. In 1885, the frame was repainted in brown by Leonard Lindh, who also modernized the Swedish and German texts and added his signature at the lower right. During the 1907 restoration the frame was repainted yet again, only to be repainted in its original colour twenty years later, at which time the original text was also uncovered.
had to unify a kingdom which, unlike a modern nation-state
, was composed of separate provinces
not necessarily happy with his reign. He also had to prepare for a potential Danish attack, and resist the influence of German states and merchants with an interest in reintroducing the hegemony of the Hanseatic League
over the Baltic lands. Facing these challenges, the king saw conspiracies everywhere — sometimes correctly — and started to thoroughly fortify his capital while purging it of potential enemies.
Shortly after his coronation, Gustav Vasa heard of the reformatory sermons delivered by Olaus Petri
in Strängnäs
and called him to Stockholm to have him appointed councillor in 1524. When Petri announced his marriage the following year, the solemnity of the celebration infuriated Catholic prelates to the extent Petri was excommunicated, while the king, in contrast, gave his unreserved support. Although the king and the reformer collaborated initially, they started to pull in different directions within a few years. As the king carried out the Reformation
from 1527, Catholic churches and monasteries were demolished or used for other purposes. Petri strongly opposed the king's methods of depriving the church of its assets and in his sermons he began to criticize the king's actions. While both the king and Petri were thus devoted to both establishing what was to become the Swedish state and the new religious doctrine, they were also involved in domestic struggle for power, a situation fuelled by various enemies and Counter Reformation propaganda
.
The primary historical source describing the events following the celestial phenomenon is the minutes of the proceedings from the king's legal process against the reformers Olaus Petri and Laurentius Andreae
in 1539–1540. The process was originally described in the chronicle of Gustav Vasa written by the clerk and historian Erik Jöransson Tegel in the early 17th century.
Sun dogs were apparently well-known during the Middle Ages, as they are mentioned in the Old Farmer's Almanac
(Bondepraktikan) which states that the phenomenon forecasts strong winds, and also rain if the sun dogs are more pale than red. According to the passage in the Vasa Chronicle, however, both Petri and the master of the mint Anders Hansson were sincerely troubled by the appearance of these sun dogs. Petri interpreted the signs over Stockholm as a warning from God and had the Vädersolstavlan painting produced and hung in front of his congregation. Notwithstanding this devotion, he was far from certain on how to interpret these signs and in a sermon delivered in late summer 1535, he explained there are two kinds of omens: one produced by the Devil to allure mankind away from God, and another produced by God to attract mankind away from the Devil — one being hopelessly difficult to tell from the other. He therefore saw it as his duty to warn both his congregation, mostly composed of German burghers united by their conspiracy against the king, and the king himself.
However, on his return to Stockholm in 1535, the king had prominent Germans imprisoned and accused Petri of replacing the law with his own "act of faith". In response, Petri warned his followers that the lords and princes interpreted his sermons as rebellious and complained about the ease with which punishment and subversion were carried through, while restoring "what rightly and true is" was much harder. In a sermon published in 1539, Petri criticized the misuse of the name of God "now commonly established", a message clearly addressed to the king. Petri also explained to his congregation that the Devil ruled the world more obviously than ever, that God would punish the authorities and those who obeyed them, and that the world had become so wicked that it was irrevocably doomed.
The king's interpretation of the phenomenon, however, was that no significant change was presaged, as the "six or eight sun dogs on a circle around the true sun, have apparently disappeared, and the true natural sun has remained itself". He then concluded that nothing was "much different, since the unchristian treason that Anders Hansson and several of that party had brought against His Highness, was not long thereafter unveiled". The king referred to the so called "Gun Powder Conspiracy" uncovered in 1536, which aimed at murdering him by a blasting charge hidden under his chair in the church. This resulted in various death sentences and expatriations, including Mint Master Anders Hansson who was accused of being a counterfeiter.
Petri further excited royal disapproval by writing a chronicle describing contemporary events from a neutral point of view. Both Olaus Petri and Anders Hansson were eventually sentenced to death as a result of the trial in 1539/1540, but were later reprieved. In the end, the king achieved his aim and the appointment of bishops and other representatives of the church was placed under his jurisdiction.
Knowledge of the events faded: in 1622 when the Danish diplomat Peder Galt asked for the meaning of the signs in the painting, he could get no replies anywhere in the city. He translated the Swedish text then accompanying the painting to Latin — "Anno 1535 1 Aprilis hoc ordine sex cœlo soles in circulo visi Holmie a septima matutina usque ad mediam nonam antermeridianam" — and concluded that the real sun represented Gustav Vasa and the other suns his successors, an assumption he thought confirmed by contemporary Swedish history. Even this confused report was soon forgotten and in 1632 the halo display in the painting was described in a German leaflet as three beautiful rainbows, a ball, and an eel hanging in the sky over the Swedish capital day and night for four weeks in 1520, furthermore interpreted as a prophecy announcing the forthcoming liberation of Protestant Germany by "the Lion from the North" (i.e. King Gustavus Adolphus
).
With the publishing of the first Swedish ecclesiastical history in 1642, the interpretation of the painting and the historical details surrounding it found a new path to follow. Relying on a publication from 1620, the sun dogs are said to have appeared first to King John III
(1537–1592) on his deathbed - the painting subsequently being produced by the papist-friendly king in order to save the souls of the Protestant kingdom - and a second time before King Gustavus Adolphus shortly before his death at the Battle of Lützen
in 1632.
The 1592 date remained the established one until the 19th century. In the 1870s, however, several publications corrected the dating and within a few decades 1535 became the generally accepted date. The painting's correct historical context was finally laid bare with the publication of the censored manuscript from the Vasa Chronicle in 1909.
Over time, the painting has become emblematic of the history of Stockholm
, and as such appears frequently in various contexts. The 1000 kronor
banknote published in 1989 shows a portrait of King Gustav Vasa, based on a painting from the 1620s, in front of details from Vädersolstavlan. In the arcs of the parhelion is the microtext SCRIPTURAM IN PROPRIA HABEANT LINGUA, which roughly translates to "Let them have the Holy Scripture in their own language". This is a quote from a letter written by the king in which he ordered a translation of the Bible into the Swedish language
.
Two stamps engraved by Lars Sjööblom were published in March 2002 for the 750th anniversary of Stockholm. They were both printed in two colours, an inland postage depicts the entire old town, while the 10 kronor stamp focuses on the castle
and the church
.
For the restoration of the Gamla stan
metro station in 1998 the artist Göran Dahl furnished the walls and floors with motifs from various medieval textiles and manuscripts, including the Överhogdal tapestries
and the 14th-century Nobilis humilis (Magnushymnen) from the Orkney Islands
. Vädersolstavlan is prominently featured on the eastern wall just south of the platform where the terrazzo
wall depicts the emblematic sun dog arcs interwoven with enlarged fragments of textiles.
The painting is used on a variety of merchandise — such as puzzles, posters, notebooks — in museum shops and other cultural institutions in Stockholm, like the Museum of Medieval Stockholm
and the Stockholm City Museum
.
In the painting, the medieval city is viewed looking east with the dark waters of Riddarfjärden
in the foreground and the interior of the Stockholm Archipelago
in the background. Although the event depicted is said to have occurred in the morning, the city is painted in evening light.
The painting is centred on the Storkyrkan
church, first mentioned in historical records in 1279 and gradually enlarged over the following centuries. In 1468–1496, during the reign of Sten Sture the Elder
, its size was doubled — the chapels where transformed into aisle
s, while rounded windows and a taller roof allowed more light into the building. The building in the painting depicts the church as it must have appeared when Gustav Vasa became king — the buttress
es added in the 1550s are not present in the painting, which seem to confirm that the 17th century copy was faithful to the original. The church still exists, although the present exterior is mostly a later Baroque
design.
Immediately behind the church is Tre Kronor
castle. Destroyed by fire in 1697 and subsequently replaced by the Stockholm Palace
, it was named after the central citadel
, a large gun tower emblazoned with the Three Crowns
symbol, known as the first building in Stockholm and a symbol for the Swedish Crown. While it is not known when the symbol was first added to the citadel (it became the national coat of arms in the late 14th century), it was gilded during the 16th century. Again, the painting is strictly accurate, as the 1540s enlargement of the tower is not present in the image. The castle's eastern wing, the king's personal residence, was destroyed by fire in 1525 and in letters ten years later the king, burdened by debts of war to Lübeck
, expressed his indignation over the fact that the reconstruction was still not completed. In the painting to the right of the church the eastern wing is accurately depicted as under construction, the exposed roof trusses confirming the inconvenience experienced by the monarch.
However, the two western towers left of the church display an unusual detail in the painting. The uniformly proportioned, large, square windows depicted there are associated with the Italian Renaissance
, which was introduced in Sweden in 1572 during reconstruction of Kalmar Castle
. While the construction works of Gustav Vasa are poorly documented, the presence of these windows in Stockholm in 1535 is unlikely. It seems more credible that this part of the painting had been damaged before 1632, forcing the copyist to rely on another source. As the two square and crenellated towers in the painting are depicted much as they appear on a copperplate of Stockholm produced by Frantz Hogenberg around 1560–1570, the painting thus probably renders this part of the castle as it appeared while the reconstruction was still under way, before its completion in the 1580s.
The islet in the left foreground, today known as Riddarholmen
("Knights' Islet"), was during the medieval era known as Gråmunkeholmen ("Greyfriars Islet") after the Franciscan
monastery located there and in the painting represented as a building with stepped gables and a tall turret at the far side of the islet. Together with other similar institutions, the monastery was closed by the king following the Reformation
although the building was used as a hospital until the mid 16th century. The turret of the monastery was replaced by the cast iron spire of Riddarholmskyrkan
church in the 19th century, but the remains of the monastery still exist inside the church and under the surrounding buildings.
The two defensive towers appearing along the near shoreline of the islet are still present, their structures remain intact although their exteriors are considerably altered. The leftmost is Birger Jarls torn located in the north-western corner of the islet and erroneously named after Birger Jarl
, by tradition attributed to be the founder of Stockholm. The other is the so called Vasatornet ("Tower of Vasa"), today forming the southern tower of the Wrangel Palace
. For the construction of the towers and other defensive structures, the king used bricks from the monastery Klara kloster located just north of the city but absent in the painting. Since the monastery is known to have been demolished immediately following the introduction of Protestantism in 1527, the painting is, again, a credible source rendering the city as it appeared in 1535.
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Just behind the Greyfriars turret is the islet of Helgeandsholmen
, where the northern city gate and defensive wall were located. Today occupied by the Swedish Parliament
, this islet was named after the charitable institution, Helige andens holme ("Islet of the Holy Spirit"), located there from around 1300 and discernible in the painting as a building with stepped gables facing an open space perhaps indicating the location of the demolished Johannite
monastery. King Gustav Vasa had all the charitable institutions in the city merged into a single one housed in the former Greyfriars monastery on Riddarholmen, so the monasteries in the painting were all the possession of the crown when the painting was produced.
The painting shows a bridge stretching north (left) from the northern city gate to an open space. This is the site of perhaps the oldest river crossing in Stockholm, today replaced by the Norrbro
, Riksbron
, and Stallbron
bridges. The latter of these (not present in the painting) is a 19th century bridge still located on the site of the medieval structure. It connects Riksgatan
passing through the Parliament Building
on Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget
on Stadsholmen
, from where Västerlånggatan
extends it further south.
To the left of the open space north of the medieval city are the steep southern slopes of the Brunkebergsåsen
esker
, a geological feature whose remains still stretch north through the city. Missing in the painting is the small island of Strömsborg
, which was little more than an insignificant cliff at the time.
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The two defensive towers of the southern city gate appearing in the left foreground, are known to be much older than the painting but their history remains poorly documented. The outer tower (Yttre Söderport) was built on an artificial island in the strait and was rebuilt in front of an expected attack by King Christian II of Denmark
in the late 1520s. In Blodbadstavlan ("The Bloodbath
Painting"), an image ten years older than Vädersolstavlan, it appears with a cone-shaped roof seriously damaged during the Danish assault. In Vädersolstavlan, the inner tower (Inre Söderport) is similar to the exterior tower, and both structures, together with the narrow bridge between them, match other historical sources. Additions younger than the 1530s, such as the reinforcements ordered by Gustav Vasa during the 1540s, are missing in the painting but present in engravings from 1560–1580, which confirms Vädersolstavlan is a credible contemporary document.
Where the southern city gates were, is today the Slussen
area. The sluice
and the locks
of Karl Johanslussen
had to be rebuilt regularly, and the appearance of the city's southern approach changed constantly. In the early 1930s, when a multi-story concrete roundabout replaced everything else in the area, the foundations of the outer defensive tower where discovered (known as Gustav Vasas rondell) and remains of the southern defensive structures can still be found below the present squares in the area.
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Along the western shoreline are several defensive structures of various ages. The wooden defence structure built along the shore around 1650 is absent in the painting, but the double row of piles protecting the western harbour is present. It served both as a defensive structure and, because a duty was imposed on all incoming ships, as an important source of income for the city. The western defence structures were neglected around 1500, which resulted in settlements being constructed between the western city wall and a shoreline constantly pushed westward by landfill, just as the painting renders it.
While the old city wall is not discernible in the painting, several of the towers sitting on the city gates are (left to right):
Lastly, next to the southern city gate is an open space, believed to be the precursor of present-day Kornhamnstorg
, the square where ships from the Lake Mälaren
region used to deliver corn and iron.
The turret on the right side of the church and the palace was the Blackfriars monastery, inaugurated in 1343 and demolished in 1547. It was built on the location of the first southern defensive tower, of which no traces have been found. The basement of the monastery, however, can still be seen by Benickebrinken
and the school next to Tyska Stallplan
.
During the Middle Ages, there were two harbours west and east of the city's southern square; in the painting they are only suggested by the presence of a mast behind the city. On the western shore at Kornhamn ("Grain Harbour") – today Kornhamnstorg
– grain, iron, and other goods from the Lake Mälaren
area were delivered. These goods were then weighed in the Våghuset ("The Scales Building", i.e. a weigh house), another important source of income for both the crown and the city, before being transported to the eastern harbour, Kogghamnen ("The Cog
Harbour") – today the southern part of Skeppsbron
– from which large ships delivered goods across the Baltic Sea
.
In the painting, the Våghuset is the building with stepped gables and iron bars to the right of the Blackfriars monastery facing Järntorget
("Iron Square"). Våghuset was located where the Södra Bankohuset
("Southern [National] Bank Building") is today. Just behind Våghuset there is another stepped gable symbolizing the Klädeshuset ("Broadcloth Building") where goods were stored. The building with stepped gables between the church and the Blackfriars monastery was Själagården ("Soul's Homestead"). It was built in the 15th century at Själagårdsgatan
to accommodate the poor and aged but also priests and others serving at the church. During the reign of Gustav Vasa it was transformed into the first royal printing house.
Between the city and the horizon are several rural islands, which today form part of central Stockholm. Behind the church and the castle is Skeppsholmen
, which for centuries served as a base for the Swedish Navy
together with Kastellholmen
islet, which can be seen above the Blackfriars monastery. To the left of Skeppsholmen are two small islets, which are today merged into the peninsula of Blasieholmen. Behind these islands are Djurgården (right), Östermalm, and Norra Djurgården (left). On the horizon, the Lilla Värtan
strait passes in front of Lidingö
and, arguably, the interior islands of the Stockholm Archipelago
.
Like the islands, the ridges surrounding the city, including the cliffs in the foreground, look very much as they still do. South (right) of the city is the island of Södermalm
, where a cluster of buildings (see image of the southern city gate above) lined up along the shore called Tranbodarna were used to burn train oil (e.g. seal lard). The round building on the eastern end of Södermalm was the gallows hill. As depicted in the painting, it was used exclusively for men (women were beheaded). The gallows remained there until the late 17th century when they were moved to present-day Hammarbyhöjden
south of the historical city centre.
While the painting is arguably the oldest realistic depiction of a halo phenomenon
— almost a century older than Christoph Scheiner
's famous observation of a halo display over Rome in 1630 — the phenomenon was apparently not entirely understood. The image contains several obvious misinterpretations and a few peculiarities. Most notably, like many other early depictions of haloes, the painting depicts a series of events occurring over several hours and is consistent in its preference for perfect circles rather than ellipses.
A work of art produced in the spirit of the Danube School (see Possible prototypes above), Vädersolstavlan features realistic depictions of cirrus cloud
s and the sky is properly rendered, going from bright blue near the horizon
to dark blue near zenith
. The shadows in the lower half of the painting, however, seem to suggest the sun is located in the west — even leaving the southern façades in shadow — which is incorrect as historical sources claim the event lasted from 7 to 9 a.m. In contrast to the city below it, the halo phenomenon is depicted vertically in a fisheye
perspective with the major circle centred on zenith
(like in the ray tracing solution above).
In the painting, the actual sun is the yellow ball in the upper-right corner surrounded by the second circle. The large circle taking up most of the sky is a parhelic circle
, parallel to the horizon and located at the same altitude as the sun, as the painting renders it. This is actually a common halo, although a full circle as depicted is rare. Such parhelic circles are caused by horizontally oriented plate ice crystals reflecting sun rays. In order for a full circle to appear sun rays must be reflected both internally and externally.
The circle surrounding the sun is a 22° halo
, as the name implies located 22° from the sun. While the painting depict it pretty much as it normally appears, it should be centred on the sun and is misplaced in the painting.
The pair of arcs flanking the 22° halo and crossing each other are most likely a misinterpretation of a circumscribed halo
. While the sun is still low, it starts as a V-shaped upper tangent arc
which gradually develops into something looking like the unfolding wings of a seagull. As the sun ascends, in rare cases it finally joins with the lower tangent arc
to form an ellipse which closes in on the circumscribed 22° halo.
The sun dog
s or parhelia, in the painting erroneously pinned to the misinterpreted arcs of the circumscribed halo, are rather frequent optical phenomena which appear when sunlight is refracted
by hexagonal ice crystals forming cirrus
or cirrostratus cloud
s. When the sun is still low, they are located on the 22° halo, the way they are most commonly observed, and as the sun ascends they move laterally away from the 22° halo. At rare occasions, they can actually reach the circumscribed halo. As depicted in the painting, the sun dogs are located midway between the 22° halo and the circumscribed halo, and, assuming they are correctly rendered, the sun should have been located at about 35-40° above the horizon (as in the simulation above).
The unintelligible arc on the lower right might be a misinterpreted and misplaced infralateral arc
missing its mirrored twin. These phenomena are, however, rare and only form when the sun is below 32°. Their shape change quickly as the sun rises, and as the painting most likely isn't depicting any specific moment, it is impossible to draw any conclusions from the mysterious shape in the painting.
The crescent moon shape in the middle of the sky looks very much like a circumzenithal arc
, which is parallel to the horizon but centred at and located near zenith
. However, they only form when the sun is located lower than 32.2° and are at their brightest when the sun is located at 22°, which is not consistent with other haloes depicted in the painting. Furthermore, one of the most striking features of circumzenithal arcs is their rainbow colours, and the shape in the painting is perfectly devoid of any colours. It is however not a complete circle (see Kern arc
), and it is facing the sun, which are both correct properties for this phenomenon.
The white spot on the lower left part of the parhelic circle, opposite to the sun, should be an anthelion
, a bright halo always located at the antisolar point
. Most scientists are convinced anthelia are caused by the convergence of several halo arcs (of which are no traces in the painting) and thus should not be regarded as an independent halo. Other researchers believe column-shaped crystals could generate the phenomenon which could explain the constellation in the painting.
Finally, the minor, slightly bluish dots, flanking the anthelion, may be perfectly depicted 120° parhelia
. These halos are produced by the same horizontally oriented ice crystals that produce sun dogs and the parhelic circle. They result from multiple interior reflections of sun rays entering the hexagonal top face and leaving through the bottom face.
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
depicting a halo
Halo (optical phenomenon)
A halo from Greek ἅλως; also known as a nimbus, icebow or gloriole) is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are elsewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky...
display, an atmospheric
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
optical phenomenon
Optical phenomenon
An optical phenomenon is any observable event that results from the interaction of light and matter. See also list of optical topics and optics. A mirage is an example of an optical phenomenon....
, observed over Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on April 20, 1535. It is named after the sun dog
Sun dog
A sun dog or sundog, scientific name parhelion ; , also called a mock sun or a phantom sun, is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of...
s appearing on the upper right part of the painting. While chiefly noted for being the oldest depiction of Stockholm in colour, it is arguably also the oldest Swedish landscape painting and the oldest depiction of sun dogs.
The original painting, which was produced shortly after the event and traditionally attributed to Urban Målare
Urban målare
Urban målare , actual name Urban Larsson, was a painter active in Sweden during the 16th century.- Biography :...
("Urban [the] Painter"), is lost, and virtually nothing is known about it. However, a copy from 1636 by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas was a portrait painterElbfas was educated in Strasbourg in a tradition dating back to Renaissance portraits. He established himself in Sweden from 1622 and from 1628 in Stockholm where he became a guild master. During the period 1634 to 1640 he worked as a court painter for...
held in Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
in Stockholm, is believed to be an accurate copy and was until recently erroneously thought to be the restored original. It was previously covered by layers of brownish varnish, and the image was hardly discernible until carefully restored and thoroughly documented in 1998–1999.
The painting was produced during an important time in Swedish history
History of Sweden
Modern Sweden started out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century...
. The establishment of modern Sweden coincided with the introduction of Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
and the break-up with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
. The painting was commissioned by the Swedish reformer Olaus Petri
Olaus Petri
Olof Persson , better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri , was a clergyman, writer, and a major contributor to the Protestant Reformation in Sweden...
, and the resulting controversies between him and King Gustav Vasa
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
and the historical context remained a well-kept secret for centuries. During the 20th century the painting became an icon for the history of Stockholm
History of Stockholm
The history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town...
, and it is now frequently displayed whenever the history of the city is commemorated.
Painting
The painting is divided into an upper part depicting the halo phenomenon viewed vertically and a lower part depicting the city as it must have appeared viewed from SödermalmSödermalm
Södermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
in the late Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The medieval urban conglomeration, today part of the old town Gamla stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
, is rendered using a bird's-eye view
Bird's-eye view
A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in the making of blueprints, floor plans and maps.It can be an aerial photograph, but also a drawing...
. The stone and brick buildings are densely packed below the church
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
and castle
Tre kronor (castle)
Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...
, which are rendered in a descriptive perspective (i.e., their size relates to their social status, rather than their actual dimensions). Scattered wooden structures appear on the surrounding rural ridges, today part of central Stockholm. Though the phenomenon is said to have occurred in the morning, the city is depicted in the evening with shadows facing east.
The wooden panel measures 163 by 110 centimetres (64 by 43 inches) and is composed of five vertical deals (softwood planks) reinforced by two horizontal dovetail battens. The battens, together with the rough scrub plane
Scrub plane
The scrub plane is a type of plane used to remove large amounts of wood from the surface of lumber, such as when eliminating cup or twist in the first stages of preparing rough stock, or when reducing the thickness of a board significantly...
d back, have effectively reduced warping to a minimum and the artwork is well-preserved, with only insignificant fissures and attacks by insects. A dendrochronological
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
examination of the panel by doctor Peter Klein at the Institute für Holzbiologie in Hamburg determined that it is made of pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
deals (Pinus silvestris
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
), the annual rings of which date from various periods ranging from the 1480s to around 1618. The painting can therefore date no further back than around 1620. This is consistent with the year 1636 given on the frame and mentioned in the parish accounts.
The dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
, covering a semi-transparent red-brownish bottom layer, is emulsion paint containing linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
. The painting was apparently painted detail by detail as no under-painting or preparatory sketches have been discovered, except for marks at the centres of the biggest circles indicating that compasses
Compass (drafting)
A compass or pair of compasses is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for inscribing circles or arcs. As dividers, they can also be used as a tool to measure distances, in particular on maps...
were used. As a result of this, the horizon tilts to the right; an x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
analysis has shown that the painter tried to compensate for this tilt by altering various elements in the painting, including mountains added along the horizon and the gently leaning spires of the church and the castle. A narrow unpainted border has been left around the image.
Possible prototypes
Danube school
The Danube School or Donau School is the name of a circle of painters of the first third of the 16th century in Bavaria and Austria . Many also were innovative printmakers, usually in etching...
, much about its stylistic and iconographic
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
history remains to be investigated. A possible stylistic prototype is the illustrated Bible of Erhard Altdorfer
Erhard Altdorfer
Erhard Altdorfer was a German Early Renaissance printmaker, painter, and architect, who worked as a court painter in Schwerin from 1512 until his death in 1561....
(brother of the more famous Albrecht Altdorfer
Albrecht Altdorfer
Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, printmaker and architect of the Renaissance era.-Biography:Altdorfer was born in Regensburg or Altdorf around 1480....
). Begun in 1530, it was inspired by the works of Cranach
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
and Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
, but also renewed the genre by combining commonplace details with an undertone of approaching disaster. In particular, Altdorfer's apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
illustrations for the Revelation to John
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
deliver an evangelic message similar to that of the Vädersolstavlan. Historical documents show that Olaus Petri, who commissioned the painting, combined biblical quotations related to the Apocalypse with the painting hanging in the church. Copies of Erhard Altdorfer's apocalyptic woodcuts may have been available in Stockholm through the German merchant Gorius Holste who lived by Järntorget
Järntorget (Stockholm)
Järntorget is a small public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located in the southernmost corner of the old town, the square connects the thoroughfares Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan, while the two alleys, Södra Bankogränd and Norra Bankogränd, stretches east...
square and who was a friend of both Petri and Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
.
Albrecht Altdorfer
Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, printmaker and architect of the Renaissance era.-Biography:Altdorfer was born in Regensburg or Altdorf around 1480....
's The Battle of Alexander at Issus
The Battle of Alexander at Issus
The Battle of Alexander at Issus is a 1529 oil painting by the German artist Albrecht Altdorfer , a pioneer of landscape art and a founding member of the Danube school...
, one of the most famous paintings produced by the Danube School, a composition similar to Vädersolstavlan renders the battle scene in a detailed landscape under a sky crowded with celestial symbols and messages. Just as in Vädersolstavlan, the view is not depicted as it would really appear, but is rather a composite of factual elements as known by the artist. In The Battle of Alexander at Issus the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Africa, and the Nile River are represented as known from contemporary maps, while the knights and soldiers are dressed in 16th century armours and the battle is depicted as retold in sources from Antiquity. The frame suspended over the scene, a device which appears in many other German Renaissance
German Renaissance
The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which originated from the Italian Renaissance in Italy...
battle scenes, is mirrored by the 17th century inscription in Vädersolstavlan. In both paintings, Apocalyptic symbols in the sky are given a contemporary political significance. The realistically rendered sky, light, and clouds, in both paintings, are emblematic of the Danube School.
17th-century copy and modern restorations
 |
 |
Above: The painting before (left) and after restoration (right). Below: The 1632 inscription. |
|
ANNO DM 1535 VICESIMA DIE APRILIS VISUM EST IN CIVITATE STOC HOLMENSI TALE SIGNUM IN COELO A SEPTIMA FERME HORA ANE MERIDIEM AD NONAM VSQVE HORAM TIVGHVNDE DAGHEN I APRILIS MÅNA SIJNTES I STOCKHOLM PÅ HIMMELN SÅDANA TEKN SÅ NAER IFRÅN SIV IN TIL NIO FÖRMIDDA DEN ZWANZIGSTEN TAGH APRILIJ SACH MAN ZU STOCKHOLM SOLCHE ZEICHEN AM HIMMEL VON SIBEN BIS ANN NEGEN WHR VORMITTAGH RENOVERAT ANNO 1636 |
The lost original painting is attributed to Urban Målare
Urban målare
Urban målare , actual name Urban Larsson, was a painter active in Sweden during the 16th century.- Biography :...
by tradition. However, historical sources and other works of art from the early Vasa Era are rare, and this attribution is apparently doubtful. Furthermore, as the extant painting has proven to be a 17th century copy, and not as previously believed a restored original, a credible corroboration is unlikely to ever be produced.
In the parish accounts, the painting is first mentioned in 1636, at which time a "M. Jacob Conterfeyer" was recorded as having "renewed the painting hanging on the northern wall". Modern scholarship has convincingly identified Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas was a portrait painterElbfas was educated in Strasbourg in a tradition dating back to Renaissance portraits. He established himself in Sweden from 1622 and from 1628 in Stockholm where he became a guild master. During the period 1634 to 1640 he worked as a court painter for...
(1600–1664), guild master from 1628 and court painter of Queen Maria Eleonora
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg was a German princess and queen consort of Sweden.She was the daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Anna, Duchess of Prussia, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia....
from 1634, as the artist responsible. Based on the brief note referencing the painting's "renewal" in 1636, it was long assumed that the extant painting was in fact the original from 1535, and that the work performed on it in the 17th century was little more than restoration of some kind. However, when the painting was taken down in mid-October 1998 to allow a group of experts from various fields to restore and document it, this notion had to be completely reassessed. A dendrochronological
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
investigation showed that the wood used for the panel came from trees cut down in the early 17th century: the painting in question must therefore be a copy and not the restored original.
Notwithstanding the excellent state of the wooden panel prior to its 1998 restoration, the painting was unevenly covered with layers of dust and yellowed varnish. This was particularly pronounced in the area of the sky, obscuring many fine details and altering this area's colouring. Once these layers were removed, it was discovered that the original grey-blue sky had been repainted with broad strokes of a deep blue dye mixed with a fixing agent. An analysis of the blue pigments in the painting showed that the original blue colour, still discernible as a bright line above the horizon, was composed of azurite
Azurite
Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. It is also known as Chessylite after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France...
, while the blue pigment in more superficial layers was true ultramarine
Ultramarine
Ultramarine is a blue pigment consisting primarily of a double silicate of aluminium and sodium with some sulfides or sulfates, and occurring in nature as a proximate component of lapis lazuli...
or lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color....
. The ultramarine layer has been identified as prussian blue
Prussian blue
Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....
, a pigment which was favoured from the early 18th century onwards. Additional alteration of the painting is well attested in parish accounts; the painting was "varnished and somewhat restored" by the painter Aline Bernard (1841–1910) in 1885, and a second time in 1907 by a Nils Janzon. The latter restoration was probably limited to the addition of a thick layer of varnish.
When the painting was thus copied in the 17th century from the 16th century original, the painting was furnished with a Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
frame carrying a heart-shaped cartouche
Cartouche (design)
A cartouche is an oval or oblong design with a slightly convex surface, typically edged with ornamental scrollwork. It is used to hold a painted or low relief design....
. This cartouche displayed the message:
in Latin, repeated in Swedish and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In 1885, the frame was repainted in brown by Leonard Lindh, who also modernized the Swedish and German texts and added his signature at the lower right. During the 1907 restoration the frame was repainted yet again, only to be repainted in its original colour twenty years later, at which time the original text was also uncovered.
History
Background
In 1523, as the newly elected King of Sweden, Gustav VasaGustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
had to unify a kingdom which, unlike a modern nation-state
Nation-state
The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...
, was composed of separate provinces
Provinces of Sweden
The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....
not necessarily happy with his reign. He also had to prepare for a potential Danish attack, and resist the influence of German states and merchants with an interest in reintroducing the hegemony of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
over the Baltic lands. Facing these challenges, the king saw conspiracies everywhere — sometimes correctly — and started to thoroughly fortify his capital while purging it of potential enemies.
Shortly after his coronation, Gustav Vasa heard of the reformatory sermons delivered by Olaus Petri
Olaus Petri
Olof Persson , better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri , was a clergyman, writer, and a major contributor to the Protestant Reformation in Sweden...
in Strängnäs
Strängnäs
Strängnäs is a locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 12,296 inhabitants in 2005. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, a former Roman Catholic and present Lutheran Diocese, with the Strängnäs Cathedral, built...
and called him to Stockholm to have him appointed councillor in 1524. When Petri announced his marriage the following year, the solemnity of the celebration infuriated Catholic prelates to the extent Petri was excommunicated, while the king, in contrast, gave his unreserved support. Although the king and the reformer collaborated initially, they started to pull in different directions within a few years. As the king carried out the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
from 1527, Catholic churches and monasteries were demolished or used for other purposes. Petri strongly opposed the king's methods of depriving the church of its assets and in his sermons he began to criticize the king's actions. While both the king and Petri were thus devoted to both establishing what was to become the Swedish state and the new religious doctrine, they were also involved in domestic struggle for power, a situation fuelled by various enemies and Counter Reformation propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
.
Events
Laurentius Andreae
Laurentius Andreae was a Swedish clergyman and scholar who is acknowledged as one of his country's preeminent intellectual figures during the first half of the 16th century...
in 1539–1540. The process was originally described in the chronicle of Gustav Vasa written by the clerk and historian Erik Jöransson Tegel in the early 17th century.
Sun dogs were apparently well-known during the Middle Ages, as they are mentioned in the Old Farmer's Almanac
Old Farmer's Almanac
The Old Farmer's Almanac is a reference book that contains weather forecasts, tide tables, planting charts, astronomical data, recipes, and articles on a number of topics including gardening, sports, astronomy and farming...
(Bondepraktikan) which states that the phenomenon forecasts strong winds, and also rain if the sun dogs are more pale than red. According to the passage in the Vasa Chronicle, however, both Petri and the master of the mint Anders Hansson were sincerely troubled by the appearance of these sun dogs. Petri interpreted the signs over Stockholm as a warning from God and had the Vädersolstavlan painting produced and hung in front of his congregation. Notwithstanding this devotion, he was far from certain on how to interpret these signs and in a sermon delivered in late summer 1535, he explained there are two kinds of omens: one produced by the Devil to allure mankind away from God, and another produced by God to attract mankind away from the Devil — one being hopelessly difficult to tell from the other. He therefore saw it as his duty to warn both his congregation, mostly composed of German burghers united by their conspiracy against the king, and the king himself.
However, on his return to Stockholm in 1535, the king had prominent Germans imprisoned and accused Petri of replacing the law with his own "act of faith". In response, Petri warned his followers that the lords and princes interpreted his sermons as rebellious and complained about the ease with which punishment and subversion were carried through, while restoring "what rightly and true is" was much harder. In a sermon published in 1539, Petri criticized the misuse of the name of God "now commonly established", a message clearly addressed to the king. Petri also explained to his congregation that the Devil ruled the world more obviously than ever, that God would punish the authorities and those who obeyed them, and that the world had become so wicked that it was irrevocably doomed.
Petri further excited royal disapproval by writing a chronicle describing contemporary events from a neutral point of view. Both Olaus Petri and Anders Hansson were eventually sentenced to death as a result of the trial in 1539/1540, but were later reprieved. In the end, the king achieved his aim and the appointment of bishops and other representatives of the church was placed under his jurisdiction.
Censorship
When Tegel's Vasa Chronicle was published in 1622, the section describing the king's legal process and death sentences against the reformers was regarded as unfavourable to the Vasa dynasty and was subsequently left out. The original manuscript, finally published in 1909, was however not the only account of the events. The oldest report, dating from the 1590s, is a handwritten manuscript simply confirming the event, and a publication on meteorological phenomena published in 1608 described the halo in 1535 as "five suns surrounding the right one with its rings as still depicted in the painting hanging in the Great Church".Knowledge of the events faded: in 1622 when the Danish diplomat Peder Galt asked for the meaning of the signs in the painting, he could get no replies anywhere in the city. He translated the Swedish text then accompanying the painting to Latin — "Anno 1535 1 Aprilis hoc ordine sex cœlo soles in circulo visi Holmie a septima matutina usque ad mediam nonam antermeridianam" — and concluded that the real sun represented Gustav Vasa and the other suns his successors, an assumption he thought confirmed by contemporary Swedish history. Even this confused report was soon forgotten and in 1632 the halo display in the painting was described in a German leaflet as three beautiful rainbows, a ball, and an eel hanging in the sky over the Swedish capital day and night for four weeks in 1520, furthermore interpreted as a prophecy announcing the forthcoming liberation of Protestant Germany by "the Lion from the North" (i.e. King Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
).
With the publishing of the first Swedish ecclesiastical history in 1642, the interpretation of the painting and the historical details surrounding it found a new path to follow. Relying on a publication from 1620, the sun dogs are said to have appeared first to King John III
John III of Sweden
-Family:John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland , house of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as Katarina Jagellonica. She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland...
(1537–1592) on his deathbed - the painting subsequently being produced by the papist-friendly king in order to save the souls of the Protestant kingdom - and a second time before King Gustavus Adolphus shortly before his death at the Battle of Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1632)
The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, which caused the Protestant campaign to lose direction.- Prelude to the...
in 1632.
The 1592 date remained the established one until the 19th century. In the 1870s, however, several publications corrected the dating and within a few decades 1535 became the generally accepted date. The painting's correct historical context was finally laid bare with the publication of the censored manuscript from the Vasa Chronicle in 1909.
Historic icon
History of Stockholm
The history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town...
, and as such appears frequently in various contexts. The 1000 kronor
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
banknote published in 1989 shows a portrait of King Gustav Vasa, based on a painting from the 1620s, in front of details from Vädersolstavlan. In the arcs of the parhelion is the microtext SCRIPTURAM IN PROPRIA HABEANT LINGUA, which roughly translates to "Let them have the Holy Scripture in their own language". This is a quote from a letter written by the king in which he ordered a translation of the Bible into the Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
.
Two stamps engraved by Lars Sjööblom were published in March 2002 for the 750th anniversary of Stockholm. They were both printed in two colours, an inland postage depicts the entire old town, while the 10 kronor stamp focuses on the castle
Tre kronor (castle)
Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...
and the church
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
.
For the restoration of the Gamla stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
metro station in 1998 the artist Göran Dahl furnished the walls and floors with motifs from various medieval textiles and manuscripts, including the Överhogdal tapestries
Överhogdal tapestries
The Överhogdal tapestries are a group of extraordinary well preserved textiles dating from the Viking Age that were discovered in Överhogdal, Sweden.-Discovery and dating:...
and the 14th-century Nobilis humilis (Magnushymnen) from the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
. Vädersolstavlan is prominently featured on the eastern wall just south of the platform where the terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
wall depicts the emblematic sun dog arcs interwoven with enlarged fragments of textiles.
The painting is used on a variety of merchandise — such as puzzles, posters, notebooks — in museum shops and other cultural institutions in Stockholm, like the Museum of Medieval Stockholm
Museum of Medieval Stockholm
The Museum of Medieval Stockholm , centrally located north of the Royal Palace, was constructed around old monuments excavated in an extensive archaeological dig in the late 1970s...
and the Stockholm City Museum
Stockholm City Museum
The Stockholm City Museum is a museum documenting and exhibiting the history of Stockholm. The museum is housed in Södra Stadshuset at Slussen on Södermalm. The building was completed in 1685...
.
Medieval Stockholm
Just as the 1630s replica has proven to be an accurate copy of the lost original, the panorama has proven to be a surprisingly reliable historical document offering a rare and detailed glimpse of medieval Stockholm. The landscape and a great number of notable buildings are correctly rendered in such great detail, that historical censorship, misinterpretations, and later restorations have not prevented modern research from repeatedly corroborating the painting's accuracy.In the painting, the medieval city is viewed looking east with the dark waters of Riddarfjärden
Riddarfjärden
Riddarfjärden, literally the Knight Firth, is a bay of Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm. Stockholm was founded in 1252 on an island in the stream where Lake Mälaren drains into the Baltic Sea . The island is today called Stadsholmen and constitutes Stockholm's Old Town...
in the foreground and the interior of the Stockholm Archipelago
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
in the background. Although the event depicted is said to have occurred in the morning, the city is painted in evening light.
The church and the castle
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
church, first mentioned in historical records in 1279 and gradually enlarged over the following centuries. In 1468–1496, during the reign of Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from .-Background:...
, its size was doubled — the chapels where transformed into aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, while rounded windows and a taller roof allowed more light into the building. The building in the painting depicts the church as it must have appeared when Gustav Vasa became king — the buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es added in the 1550s are not present in the painting, which seem to confirm that the 17th century copy was faithful to the original. The church still exists, although the present exterior is mostly a later Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
design.
Tre kronor (castle)
Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...
castle. Destroyed by fire in 1697 and subsequently replaced by the Stockholm Palace
Stockholm Palace
The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
, it was named after the central citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
, a large gun tower emblazoned with the Three Crowns
Three Crowns
Three Crowns is a national emblem of Sweden, present in the Coat of Arms of the Realm of Sweden, and composed by three yellow or gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background....
symbol, known as the first building in Stockholm and a symbol for the Swedish Crown. While it is not known when the symbol was first added to the citadel (it became the national coat of arms in the late 14th century), it was gilded during the 16th century. Again, the painting is strictly accurate, as the 1540s enlargement of the tower is not present in the image. The castle's eastern wing, the king's personal residence, was destroyed by fire in 1525 and in letters ten years later the king, burdened by debts of war to Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, expressed his indignation over the fact that the reconstruction was still not completed. In the painting to the right of the church the eastern wing is accurately depicted as under construction, the exposed roof trusses confirming the inconvenience experienced by the monarch.
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
, which was introduced in Sweden in 1572 during reconstruction of Kalmar Castle
Kalmar Castle
Kalmar Castle is a castle in Kalmar, the province of Småland in Sweden. - History :During the twelfth century a round defensive tower was built on Kalmarsund and a harbour constructed. At the end of the thirteenth century King Magnus Ladulås had a new fortress built with a curtain wall, round...
. While the construction works of Gustav Vasa are poorly documented, the presence of these windows in Stockholm in 1535 is unlikely. It seems more credible that this part of the painting had been damaged before 1632, forcing the copyist to rely on another source. As the two square and crenellated towers in the painting are depicted much as they appear on a copperplate of Stockholm produced by Frantz Hogenberg around 1560–1570, the painting thus probably renders this part of the castle as it appeared while the reconstruction was still under way, before its completion in the 1580s.
Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating from the 17th century...
("Knights' Islet"), was during the medieval era known as Gråmunkeholmen ("Greyfriars Islet") after the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery located there and in the painting represented as a building with stepped gables and a tall turret at the far side of the islet. Together with other similar institutions, the monastery was closed by the king following the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
although the building was used as a hospital until the mid 16th century. The turret of the monastery was replaced by the cast iron spire of Riddarholmskyrkan
Riddarholmskyrkan
The Riddarholmen Church is the burial church of the Swedish monarchs. It is located on the island of Riddarholmen, close to the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. The congregation was dissolved in 1807 and today the church is used only for burial and commemorative purposes. Swedish monarchs from...
church in the 19th century, but the remains of the monastery still exist inside the church and under the surrounding buildings.
The two defensive towers appearing along the near shoreline of the islet are still present, their structures remain intact although their exteriors are considerably altered. The leftmost is Birger Jarls torn located in the north-western corner of the islet and erroneously named after Birger Jarl
Birger jarl
, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...
, by tradition attributed to be the founder of Stockholm. The other is the so called Vasatornet ("Tower of Vasa"), today forming the southern tower of the Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace is a townhouse in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1756 the palace has housed Svea Hovrätt, the regional court of appeal. It was the residence of the royal court during the first half of the 18th-century....
. For the construction of the towers and other defensive structures, the king used bricks from the monastery Klara kloster located just north of the city but absent in the painting. Since the monastery is known to have been demolished immediately following the introduction of Protestantism in 1527, the painting is, again, a credible source rendering the city as it appeared in 1535.
Helgeandsholmen
Helgeandsholmen
Helgeandsholmen is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm...
, where the northern city gate and defensive wall were located. Today occupied by the Swedish Parliament
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
, this islet was named after the charitable institution, Helige andens holme ("Islet of the Holy Spirit"), located there from around 1300 and discernible in the painting as a building with stepped gables facing an open space perhaps indicating the location of the demolished Johannite
Johannite
Johannite is a rare uranium sulfate mineral. It crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system with the chemical composition Cu[UO2SO4]2·8H2O. It crystallizes in the triclinic system and develops only small prism or thin to thick tabular crystals, usually occurs as flaky or spheroidal aggregates and...
monastery. King Gustav Vasa had all the charitable institutions in the city merged into a single one housed in the former Greyfriars monastery on Riddarholmen, so the monasteries in the painting were all the possession of the crown when the painting was produced.
The painting shows a bridge stretching north (left) from the northern city gate to an open space. This is the site of perhaps the oldest river crossing in Stockholm, today replaced by the Norrbro
Norrbro
Norrbro is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Stockholm Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the parliament building, Riksdagen, and from there over to Gustaf Adolfs torg...
, Riksbron
Riksbron
Riksbron is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden leading from Drottninggatan on Norrmalm 44 metres over to Riksgatan on Helgeandsholmen....
, and Stallbron
Stallbron
Stallbron is an arch bridge located in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching some 20 meters over Stallkanalen it connects Riksgatan passing through the Parliament Building on Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget on Stadsholmen from where Västerlånggatan extends it...
bridges. The latter of these (not present in the painting) is a 19th century bridge still located on the site of the medieval structure. It connects Riksgatan
Riksgatan
Riksgatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located on Helgeandsholmen, and passing between the eastern and the western buildings of the Swedish Parliament Buildings, makes it the official address of the Parliament.In its northern end, the bridge Riksbron...
passing through the Parliament Building
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
on Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget
Mynttorget
Mynttorget is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.- Setting :From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgatan leads to Riddarhustorget, while the quay Kanslikajen stretches along the...
on Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Together with the small islands Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms the Old town of Stockholm....
, from where Västerlånggatan
Västerlånggatan
Västerlånggatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward between the squares Mynttorget and Järntorget, it follows the course of the city's now demolished 13th century defensive wall....
extends it further south.
To the left of the open space north of the medieval city are the steep southern slopes of the Brunkebergsåsen
Brunkebergsåsen
Brunkebergsåsen was an esker that once reached over much of Stockholm's Norrmalm district. Geologically, it is a part of the much larger Stockholmsåsen. It formed a considerable obstacle to traffic, effectively dividing Norrmalm into a western and an eastern part. Consequently, most of it has been...
esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
, a geological feature whose remains still stretch north through the city. Missing in the painting is the small island of Strömsborg
Strömsborg
Strömsborg is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden, located north of Stadsholmen, and west of Helgeandsholmen, between the bridges Centralbron, a motorway passing through central Stockholm, and Vasabron...
, which was little more than an insignificant cliff at the time.
Southern city gate
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
in the late 1520s. In Blodbadstavlan ("The Bloodbath
Stockholm Bloodbath
The Stockholm Bloodbath, or the Stockholm Massacre , took place as the result of a successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces under the command of King Christian II...
Painting"), an image ten years older than Vädersolstavlan, it appears with a cone-shaped roof seriously damaged during the Danish assault. In Vädersolstavlan, the inner tower (Inre Söderport) is similar to the exterior tower, and both structures, together with the narrow bridge between them, match other historical sources. Additions younger than the 1530s, such as the reinforcements ordered by Gustav Vasa during the 1540s, are missing in the painting but present in engravings from 1560–1580, which confirms Vädersolstavlan is a credible contemporary document.
Where the southern city gates were, is today the Slussen
Slussen
Slussen is an area of central Stockholm, connecting Södermalm and Gamla stan. The area is named after the locks between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The locks themselves allow passage between these two bodies of water...
area. The sluice
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...
and the locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
of Karl Johanslussen
Karl Johanslussen
Karl Johanslussen is a lock and a sluice, connecting and controlling the flood discharge between Riddarfjärden, the easternmost part of Lake Mälaren, and Saltsjön, the section of the Baltic Sea reaching into central Stockholm, Sweden. The lock is 75 meters long, 10 meters wide and 3.90 meters deep...
had to be rebuilt regularly, and the appearance of the city's southern approach changed constantly. In the early 1930s, when a multi-story concrete roundabout replaced everything else in the area, the foundations of the outer defensive tower where discovered (known as Gustav Vasas rondell) and remains of the southern defensive structures can still be found below the present squares in the area.
Defensive structures
While the old city wall is not discernible in the painting, several of the towers sitting on the city gates are (left to right):
- The tower with a cone-shaped roof just to the right of the Greyfriars monastery was called Draktornet ("Dragon's Tower"), and in 1535 served as a prison.
- Just to the right of it was Gråmunketornet ("Greyfriars Tower") with stepped gables and a large gate leading to Riddarholmen island. Excavations in the 1950 showed that the gate was 1.5 metres (5 feet) wide.
- The second tower with stepped gables but without a gate was the Lejontornet ("Lion's Tower"), the foundations of which were rediscovered during an archaeological excavation in 1984 and are now part of the interior of a restaurant on YxsmedsgrändYxsmedsgrändYxsmedsgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.Stretching south from Västerlånggatan to Stora Nygatan, it forms a parallel street to Didrik Ficks Gränd and Kåkbrinken and is crossed by Lilla Nygatan and Munkbrogatan.Throughout its history it appears under various...
. - Between Lejontornet and the southern city gate flanked by two boats is a wooden structure, roughly triangular in plan; this is a defensive tower called Kivenäbben, built in 1520–1523 on piles in the water.
Lastly, next to the southern city gate is an open space, believed to be the precursor of present-day Kornhamnstorg
Kornhamnstorg
Kornhamnstorg is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.Old names : Kornhaffn , Jernboen , Åkaretorget , Kornhampns torget...
, the square where ships from the Lake Mälaren
Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
region used to deliver corn and iron.
Other buildings and surrounding ridges
Benickebrinken
Södra/Norra Benickebrinken are two sloping streets in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, stretching from Österlånggatan up to Svartmangatan....
and the school next to Tyska Stallplan
Tyska Stallplan
Tyska Stallplan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south from Svartmangatan to Prästgatan, it is connected to Baggensgatan and Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, while forming a parallel street to Österlånggatan and Tyska Brinken.By the street are the public...
.
During the Middle Ages, there were two harbours west and east of the city's southern square; in the painting they are only suggested by the presence of a mast behind the city. On the western shore at Kornhamn ("Grain Harbour") – today Kornhamnstorg
Kornhamnstorg
Kornhamnstorg is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.Old names : Kornhaffn , Jernboen , Åkaretorget , Kornhampns torget...
– grain, iron, and other goods from the Lake Mälaren
Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
area were delivered. These goods were then weighed in the Våghuset ("The Scales Building", i.e. a weigh house), another important source of income for both the crown and the city, before being transported to the eastern harbour, Kogghamnen ("The Cog
Cog (ship)
A cog is a type of ship that first appeared in the 10th century, and was widely used from around the 12th century on. Cogs were generally built of oak, which was an abundant timber in the Baltic region of Prussia. This vessel was fitted with a single mast and a square-rigged single sail...
Harbour") – today the southern part of Skeppsbron
Skeppsbron
Skeppsbron is both a street and a quay in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, stretching from the bridge Strömbron in front of the Royal Palace southward to Slussen....
– from which large ships delivered goods across the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
Järntorget (Stockholm)
Järntorget is a small public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located in the southernmost corner of the old town, the square connects the thoroughfares Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan, while the two alleys, Södra Bankogränd and Norra Bankogränd, stretches east...
("Iron Square"). Våghuset was located where the Södra Bankohuset
Södra Bankohuset
Södra Bankohuset or Gamla Riksbanken is a building in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden, together with Norra Bankohuset the location of the Bank of Sweden until 1906...
("Southern [National] Bank Building") is today. Just behind Våghuset there is another stepped gable symbolizing the Klädeshuset ("Broadcloth Building") where goods were stored. The building with stepped gables between the church and the Blackfriars monastery was Själagården ("Soul's Homestead"). It was built in the 15th century at Själagårdsgatan
Själagårdsgatan
Själagårdsgatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south from Köpmangatan to Tyska Brunnsplan, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan...
to accommodate the poor and aged but also priests and others serving at the church. During the reign of Gustav Vasa it was transformed into the first royal printing house.
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Left: Detail of the left background. Östermalm and Northern Djurgården is located in front of the strait Lilla Värtan Lilla Värtan Lilla Värtan or simply Värtan is a strait in Stockholm, Sweden. Separating mainland Stockholm from the island and municipality Lidingö, it stretches from Blockhusudden in the south to Stora Värtan in the north... with Lidingö Lidingö Lidingö is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, located north east of central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is also the seat of Lidingö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 44,000 inhabitants in 2011.... behind. Right: Aerial view of Lilla Värtan looking south. Lidingö is on the left and Djurgården on the right side of the strait. |
Between the city and the horizon are several rural islands, which today form part of central Stockholm. Behind the church and the castle is Skeppsholmen
Skeppsholmen
Skeppsholmen is one of the islands of Stockholm. It is connected with Blasieholmen and Kastellholmen by bridges. Positioned strategically at the Baltic Sea entrance to Stockholm, it has traditionally been the location of several military buildings...
, which for centuries served as a base for the Swedish Navy
Swedish Navy
The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...
together with Kastellholmen
Kastellholmen
Kastellholmen is a small island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden, connected to the adjacent Skeppsholmen through the bridge Kastellholmsbron. It has an area of 31,000 m²....
islet, which can be seen above the Blackfriars monastery. To the left of Skeppsholmen are two small islets, which are today merged into the peninsula of Blasieholmen. Behind these islands are Djurgården (right), Östermalm, and Norra Djurgården (left). On the horizon, the Lilla Värtan
Lilla Värtan
Lilla Värtan or simply Värtan is a strait in Stockholm, Sweden. Separating mainland Stockholm from the island and municipality Lidingö, it stretches from Blockhusudden in the south to Stora Värtan in the north...
strait passes in front of Lidingö
Lidingö
Lidingö is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, located north east of central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is also the seat of Lidingö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 44,000 inhabitants in 2011....
and, arguably, the interior islands of the Stockholm Archipelago
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
.
Södermalm
Södermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
, where a cluster of buildings (see image of the southern city gate above) lined up along the shore called Tranbodarna were used to burn train oil (e.g. seal lard). The round building on the eastern end of Södermalm was the gallows hill. As depicted in the painting, it was used exclusively for men (women were beheaded). The gallows remained there until the late 17th century when they were moved to present-day Hammarbyhöjden
Hammarbyhöjden
Hammarbyhöjden is a suburban city district in Stockholm, Sweden. The district is split across two boroughs: Most of it is located in Skarpnäck borough, the subdistrict Blåsut is located in the Enskede-Årsta-Vantör borough. As of December 31, 2007, Hammarbyhöjden had 8,143 inhabitants.The...
south of the historical city centre.
Parhelion
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Halo (optical phenomenon)
A halo from Greek ἅλως; also known as a nimbus, icebow or gloriole) is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are elsewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky...
— almost a century older than Christoph Scheiner
Christoph Scheiner
Christoph Scheiner SJ was a Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer in Ingolstadt....
's famous observation of a halo display over Rome in 1630 — the phenomenon was apparently not entirely understood. The image contains several obvious misinterpretations and a few peculiarities. Most notably, like many other early depictions of haloes, the painting depicts a series of events occurring over several hours and is consistent in its preference for perfect circles rather than ellipses.
Cirrus cloud
Cirrus clouds are atmospheric clouds generally characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving them their name from the Latin word cirrus meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair...
s and the sky is properly rendered, going from bright blue near the horizon
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates earth from sky, the line that divides all visible directions into two categories: those that intersect the Earth's surface, and those that do not. At many locations, the true horizon is obscured by trees, buildings, mountains, etc., and the resulting...
to dark blue near zenith
Zenith
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...
. The shadows in the lower half of the painting, however, seem to suggest the sun is located in the west — even leaving the southern façades in shadow — which is incorrect as historical sources claim the event lasted from 7 to 9 a.m. In contrast to the city below it, the halo phenomenon is depicted vertically in a fisheye
Fisheye lens
In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in a broad, panoramic and hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology to study cloud formation and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted...
perspective with the major circle centred on zenith
Zenith
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...
(like in the ray tracing solution above).
In the painting, the actual sun is the yellow ball in the upper-right corner surrounded by the second circle. The large circle taking up most of the sky is a parhelic circle
Parhelic circle
A parhelic circle is a halo, an optical phenomenon appearing as a horizontal white line on the same altitude as the sun, or occasionally the Moon. If complete, it stretches all around the sky, but more commonly it only appears in sections....
, parallel to the horizon and located at the same altitude as the sun, as the painting renders it. This is actually a common halo, although a full circle as depicted is rare. Such parhelic circles are caused by horizontally oriented plate ice crystals reflecting sun rays. In order for a full circle to appear sun rays must be reflected both internally and externally.
The circle surrounding the sun is a 22° halo
22° halo
A 22° halo is a halo, one type of optical phenomenon, forming a circle 22° around the sun, or occasionally the moon. It forms as sunlight is refracted in hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere...
, as the name implies located 22° from the sun. While the painting depict it pretty much as it normally appears, it should be centred on the sun and is misplaced in the painting.
The pair of arcs flanking the 22° halo and crossing each other are most likely a misinterpretation of a circumscribed halo
Circumscribed halo
A circumscribed halo is a type of halo, an optical phenomenon that circumscribes a related phenomenon, the 22° halo centred on the sun.When observed, a circumscribed halo is normally oval in shape and, at the points directly below and above the sun, lies tangential to the 22° halo...
. While the sun is still low, it starts as a V-shaped upper tangent arc
Upper tangent arc
An upper tangent arc is a halo, an atmospheric optical phenomenon which appears over and tangent to the 22° halo around the sun.The shape of an upper tangent arc varies with the elevation of the sun; while the sun is low it appears as an arc over the sun forming a sharp angle...
which gradually develops into something looking like the unfolding wings of a seagull. As the sun ascends, in rare cases it finally joins with the lower tangent arc
Lower tangent arc
A lower tangent arc is a rarely observable halo, an optical phenomenon appearing under and tangent to a 22° halo centred around the sun.Just like upper tangent arcs, the shape of a lower tangent arc is dependent on the altitude of the sun. As the sun slips over the horizon the lower tangent arc...
to form an ellipse which closes in on the circumscribed 22° halo.
The sun dog
Sun dog
A sun dog or sundog, scientific name parhelion ; , also called a mock sun or a phantom sun, is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of...
s or parhelia, in the painting erroneously pinned to the misinterpreted arcs of the circumscribed halo, are rather frequent optical phenomena which appear when sunlight is refracted
Refraction
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed...
by hexagonal ice crystals forming cirrus
Cirrus cloud
Cirrus clouds are atmospheric clouds generally characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving them their name from the Latin word cirrus meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair...
or cirrostratus cloud
Cirrostratus cloud
Cirrostratus clouds are thin, generally uniform clouds, composed of ice-crystals. They are difficult to detect and if capable of forming halos the cloud takes the form of thin cirrostratus nebulosus. The cloud has a fibrous texture with no haloes if it is thicker cirrostratus fibratus. On the...
s. When the sun is still low, they are located on the 22° halo, the way they are most commonly observed, and as the sun ascends they move laterally away from the 22° halo. At rare occasions, they can actually reach the circumscribed halo. As depicted in the painting, the sun dogs are located midway between the 22° halo and the circumscribed halo, and, assuming they are correctly rendered, the sun should have been located at about 35-40° above the horizon (as in the simulation above).
The unintelligible arc on the lower right might be a misinterpreted and misplaced infralateral arc
Infralateral arc
An infralateral arc is a rare halo, an optical phenomenon appearing similar to a rainbow under a white parhelic circle...
missing its mirrored twin. These phenomena are, however, rare and only form when the sun is below 32°. Their shape change quickly as the sun rises, and as the painting most likely isn't depicting any specific moment, it is impossible to draw any conclusions from the mysterious shape in the painting.
Circumzenithal arc
The circumzenithal arc or circumzenith arc , also called the Bravais' arc, is an optical phenomenon similar in appearance to a rainbow; but it arises from refraction of sunlight through horizontally-oriented ice crystals, generally in cirrus clouds, rather than from raindrops...
, which is parallel to the horizon but centred at and located near zenith
Zenith
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...
. However, they only form when the sun is located lower than 32.2° and are at their brightest when the sun is located at 22°, which is not consistent with other haloes depicted in the painting. Furthermore, one of the most striking features of circumzenithal arcs is their rainbow colours, and the shape in the painting is perfectly devoid of any colours. It is however not a complete circle (see Kern arc
Kern arc
The Kern arc is the extremely rare atmospheric optical phenomenon related to the circumzenithal arc. It is a complete and faint circle around the zenith. In contrast, the related and much more common circumzenithal arc is only ever a partial circle....
), and it is facing the sun, which are both correct properties for this phenomenon.
The white spot on the lower left part of the parhelic circle, opposite to the sun, should be an anthelion
Anthelion
An anthelion is a rare optical phenomenon appearing on the parhelic circle opposite to the sun as a faint white halo, not unlike a sundog.How anthelions are formed is disputed...
, a bright halo always located at the antisolar point
Antisolar point
The antisolar point is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere exactly opposite the Sun. It is where anticrepuscular rays appear to converge, and on a moonless night away from city lights, it is often possible to see the gegenschein there. The apex of a rainbow will also form roughly 42...
. Most scientists are convinced anthelia are caused by the convergence of several halo arcs (of which are no traces in the painting) and thus should not be regarded as an independent halo. Other researchers believe column-shaped crystals could generate the phenomenon which could explain the constellation in the painting.
Finally, the minor, slightly bluish dots, flanking the anthelion, may be perfectly depicted 120° parhelia
120° parhelion
A 120° parhelion is a relatively rare halo, an optical phenomenon occasionally appearing along with very bright sun dogs as ice crystal-saturated cirrus clouds fill the atmosphere...
. These halos are produced by the same horizontally oriented ice crystals that produce sun dogs and the parhelic circle. They result from multiple interior reflections of sun rays entering the hexagonal top face and leaving through the bottom face.
See also
- History of StockholmHistory of StockholmThe history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town...
- Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena