This week’s guest article is a fun one! My friend Erica Eriksdotter, a professional artist who specializes in portraits of animals, has shared some of her thoughts on the way that the worlds of art and royal jewelry intersect. Because Erica is originally from Sweden, she’s focused on the glittering jewels of the Bernadottes in both art and life. Enjoy!
It might seem like royal jewelry and painting pet portraits (like I do as a profession) live in two separate spaces, but consider this: before we relied on photos, a painter’s brush strokes were responsible for bringing tiaras and pearls to life on canvas to showcase wealth and status. It is thanks to these realistic portraits that we know so much about the provenance of some historical royal jewelry.
Just like my realistic memorial portraits of beloved animals, these heirloom paintings of queens and princesses were handed down through generations and now bridge the past and the future for the viewer (and the wearer). A prime example of how portraits bring history to life is when Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, in the documentary Kungliga Smycken, says, “The first time I walked by a painting and realized I wore the same jewelry as the person in the painting, well that was an awakening for me. That’s when it becomes real, the history becomes so real and alive.”
The importance of realism and presenting a painting that has soul cannot be understated when we discuss capturing glittering diamonds or the glimmer in a dog or cat’s eyes. It’s how our mind makes the connection between the jewels we saw in portraits and what we see today. Without that piece, we may not make the soulful connection.
As a fine arts painter born and raised in Sweden, Lauren asked me to share thoughts on my favorite Swedish royal jewelry. Like the paint layers that make a pet come alive on my canvas, it is the layers of meaning behind these particular pieces that make them my favorites.
Maybe it’s the Connaught Diamond Tiara that Crown Princess Victoria is referring to in Kungliga Smycken? I’ve loved this delicate and feminine tiara since seeing photos of Silvia Sommerlath wearing it at her pre-wedding celebration, signaling to the Swedish people she was well loved by the King’s famous sisters.
But it’s this particular outing that gives me goosebumps every time: Crown Princess Victoria wearing it at the 2018 Nobel ceremony and banquet, in her mother’s dream of a dress from 1995 (and the prime time of Queen Silvia’s big dresses and tiara hair), together with the earrings and brooch from the grand Braganza Parure.
Sometimes an heirloom depicted hundred of years ago in a painting becomes more sentimental due to one specific owner. Queen Josefina’s Diamond Stomacher Necklace was a favorite of Princess Lilian, and she lovingly filled the role of grandmother for Crown Princess Victoria and her siblings.
Victoria wore the necklace (and the laurel wreath tiara bequeathed to her by Lilian) at Princess Madeleine’s wedding—a wonderful way to remember their beloved great-aunt and uncle. My own mother does the same at our big family milestones to always include the much loved yet departed family members via her jewelry.
It wasn’t a painting that introduced me to royal jewelry, but Queen Silvia’s first official portrait photo. It hung in my grandparents house in Sweden and since then I’ve had a soft spot for the Russian Pink Topaz Suite. Queen Silvia has worn this during many of the Royal Family’s happiest moments which is the symbolism of pink topaz.
Who can forget her at King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 50th birthday celebration or dressed in the full suite as the mother of the bride at Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding?
Sometimes love trumps art: I can’t resist including this jewelry piece, the Swedish Diamond Arrow Brooch, for what it symbolizes. With “the Bernadotte family diamond arrow brooch, artfully placed in her chignon, as if Cupid himself had struck her with an arrow of love…” per our beloved Court Jeweller herself. To me, this piece of unexpected jewelry represents the love filled exuberance, the bursting-with-joy emotions clearly visible on Crown Princess Victoria’s face throughout the wedding celebrations in June 2010.
The emotions were palpable to all of Sweden and we celebrated her like she was our own daughter, sister, or best friend getting married. The wedding and, in particular, Prince Daniel’s masterful speech, is one I’ve returned to over and over. Störst av allt är kärleken. (Side note: I painted her wedding bouquet and sent it as a wedding present.)
Sometimes it takes a new beholder to breathe life into an already stunning art piece. For me, that’s what happened when Princess Madeleine wore the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik tiara to the 2015 Nobels. How had I never truly seen this piece before? It was a match made in heaven. Who can forget the tea party for sick children at the palace shortly thereafter when it was as if she stepped out of the fairy tale books?
These royal jewelry pieces hold more than glittery status to the Swedish royal family. They hold memories of loved ones and a connection to how life once was and how it is today, and the soulful paintings of them transcend time and bring history to life on canvas. Making soulful connections and capturing the essence with a paint brush is what I’ve spent a lifetime doing in my painting career—since selling my first painting at age 10 in Sweden—and it’s part of the reason people trust me to paint their pets.
Capturing the essence of my client’s pet is incredibly important to them, to their story and the way this painting honors the place that pet had within their family. It holds the collective history of the family and their pet—together, it holds the emotions, the memories and now the experience of working with a fine arts painter to bring their beloved companion to life on the canvas. It bridges the past with the future, just like paintings of glittering gems from a long time ago.
I also teach the “How to Paint a Dog Portrait” online course (enrollment opens this month!) to people who want to learn the process of painting a realistic dog portrait, new skills and level up as a wholehearted artist for self-fulfillment or to become a commissioned pet portrait painter themselves. Our beloved Court Jeweller, Lauren Kiehna, hosts an amazing bonus training in the course on how to keep showing up for yourself and follow through on your long term goals as a creative. This nine-week course is perfect for all skill levels and students come away with a portrait of a dog they’ll be proud to share.
Enormous thanks again to Erica for sharing her artist’s perspective on some of our favorite Swedish royal jewels! You can view examples of her excellent work on her website, read more about her online course here, and subscribe to her newsletter here!
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