The Spring Snowflake

The Spring Snowflake

1885

Marble

Mått 163,00 x 72,00 x 60,00 cm

F 176

Bequest of Pontus and Göthilda Fürstenberg, 1902

From the book “The Collection: The Gothenburg Museum of Art”, Gothenburg 2014: The girl is in contrapposto so that her body forms an S-curve. Her right hip curves out while her left side forms a straight line. She raises her right hand to her head in a listening gesture. Her head is tilted back, her eyes are closed. Her left hand holds the girdle that is tight around her chest and about to burst. There are springs snowflakes growing at her feet. The inscription on the base reads, »Flower of snow, free your breast from the bands which prevent you from blooming! Announce to the earth the great awakening. One kiss from the sun and all breathes.« The Spring Snowflake has been read as an image of budding sexuality. The girl seems oblivious of the observer. Her body is girlish, but on the verge of becoming adult. Like the snowdrops, she is wakening from her winter’s sleep. The young woman is woken to a force that grows within her. But the sculpture can also be read as a picture of the natural processes of growing, budding, and flowering. Although sexual awakening is one reading of The Spring Snowflake, it is not as erotically challenging as other Hasselberg sculptures. The contrapposto is instead more a link to the ancient sculpture’s idealized bodies and chaste ideals. Her raised arm is reminiscent of Michelangelo’s sculpture of a slave, he too with a band about his chest. Hasselberg’s efforts paid off. The full-size plaster cast which he managed to complete in time for the Salon in 1881, gained an honourable mention; the final marble version, which was commissioned by the Nationalmuseum, was awarded a gold medal when it was shown at the Salon the following year. After The Spring Snowflake had been exhibited in Gothenburg, Hasselberg was invited to submit a proposal for a fountain sculpture in Brunnsparken, a competition he duly won with The Sower/La Semeuse. The 1885 marble version of The Spring Snowflake in the Fürstenberg Gallery is one of three, the Nationalmuseum’s being dated 1883, and the Glyptotek’s in Copenhagen 1887–9. Kristoffer Arvidsson

Paris, Société des Artistes Français, Palais de Champs Elysées, 1882

Totte Wiberg, Fürstenbergska galleriet. Mecenatparet, konstnärerna och samlingen, Warne Förlag, Partille 2009, p. 41 Georg Pauli, "Fürstenbergska galleriet. Spridda drag ur dess historia", Ord & Bild, 1902, p. 344 Georg Nordensvan, Svensk konst och svenska konstnärer i nittonde århundradet. II. Från Karl XV till sekelslutet, Ny, grundligt omarbetad upplaga, Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm (1925) 1928, p. 461-462 Sixten Strömbom, Konstnärsförbundets historia till och med 1890, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm 1945, p. 148, 289, 293, 344, ill. p. bild 39 Hans-Olof Boström, Sett. Essäer om 1800- och 1900-talskonst, Carlssons, Stockholm 1992, p. 206-208, ill. p. 207 Carl G. Laurin, Nordisk konst IV. Sveriges och Finlands konst från 1880 till 1926, P. A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, Stockholm 1926, p. 279-281 60 svenska skulptörer. 60 reproduktioner i tontryck efter fotografier af originalen, Gleerupska universitets-bokhandeln, Lund 1920, ill. p. 33 Prins Eugen, Breven berätta. Upplevelser och iakttagelser åren 1886–1913, P. A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, Stockholm 1942, p. 163 Axel L. Romdahl, "Per Hasselberg. En återblick av Axel L. Romdahl", Konsthistorisk tidskrift, 1932, p. 1-2, 4, ill. p. 3 Karl Wåhlin, "Pehr Hasselberg. Med 12 bilder", Ord & Bild, 1894, p. 407, 408, 410 Gunnar Dalmén, Gamla bildbekanta, Trevi, Stockholm 1978, p. 92 Fritz von Dardel, "Per Hasselbergs: 'Snöklockan'.", Oscar II och hans tid (1872–1907). En bokfilm, 24 oktober 1881, red. Erik Lindorm, Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1979., p. 136, ill. p. 136 Lennart Wærn, "In memoriam Coco et Coco redivivus", Det skapande jaget. Konsthistoriska texter tillägnade Maj-Brit Wadell, red. Irja Bergström, Konstvetenskapliga institutionen, Göteborgs universitet, 1996, p. 123, 125, 129-130 Richard Bergh, Efterlämnade skrifter om konst och annat, Bonnier, Stockholm 1921, p. 138-139, ill. p. 138 Lennart Wærn, "Ångan och magnetismen", Symbolister 3. Tidskrift för konstvetenskap nr 32, Malmö 1957, ill. p. 90 Ulf Torell, Per Hasselberg. Den nakna sensualismens skulptör, Ronneby hembygdsförening, Ronneby 2007, p. 26-46, 50, 54, 67, 70, 183, 192, 210, 212, 244-245, 247, 260, 290-291, 303, ill. p. 106 Nina Öhman, Bonniers porträttsamling Nedre Manilla, Bonnier, Stockholm 1994, p. 37 Olga Raphael, En målares väg. En krönika om Geskel Saloman 1821–1902. Målningar och teckningar av konstnären, Natur & Kultur, Stockholm 1965, p. 148 David Finn, How to Look at Sculpture, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York 1989., p. 98-, ill. p. 96, 98 David Finn, "Discovering Per Hasselberg", Sculpture Review, Spring, vol. XLIII, nr 1, 1994, p. 17-19, ill. p. 16, 17, 18 Lillie Fischer, Per Hasselberg. Snöklockans, Grodans, Näckrosens skapare, Nya Antik & Auktion nr 12, 1978, p. 30-33, ill. p. 31 Elsebeth Welander-Berggren, Annika Gunnarsson, Åsa Cavalli-Björkman, Jessica Sjöholm Skrubbe, Christina G. Wistman, Anna Meister, Per Hasselberg (1850–1894), red. Annika Gunnarsson, Anna Meister, Elsebeth Welander-Berggren et al., Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Arena/Åmells Art Books, Stockholm 2010., p. 7, 11-14, 16-17, 41, 44, 45, 50-51, 64-78, 90-92, 102-104, 106-109, 113, 114 Ragnar Båge, "Per Hasselberg. Ett bidrag till kännedom om vår frejdade bildhuggare", Särtryck ur Blekingeboken 1934. Blekinge musei- och hembygdsförbunds årsbok, Blekinge musei- och hembygdsförbund, Karlskrona 1934., p. 1, 2, 12, 15-19, 48 Ragnar Båge, Vallpojken som blev marmorns skald. Ett bidrag till kännedomen om vår frejdade bildhuggare, P. A. Norstedt & söners förlag, Karlshamn 1933, p. 7, 42-48, 51-54, 56, 58, 60, 71, 77, ill. p. 81 Richard Bergh, Per Hasselberg 1850–1894. Minnesblad, red. F. U. Wrangel, R. Bergh, Alf Wallander, Birger Mörner, Karl Wåhlin, Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening, Stockholm 1898, p. 11, 12, 15-16, 35 Kristoffer Arvidsson, Per Dahlström, Björn Fredlund, Anna Hyltze, Philippa Nanfeldt, Isabella Nilsson, Johan Sjöström, Samlingen Göteborgs konstmuseum, red. Kristoffer Arvidsson, Per Dahlström, Anna Hyltze, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Göteborg 2014., p. 132, 134, 137, ill. p. 135