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From: Lilian andersson
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On a sudden whim, the man printed a sticker with the text “kill Nazism” on the 19th century painting of the National Museum “The Funeral of Charles XII.”
The 30-year-old is now being prosecuted for serious damages when the artwork, one of Sweden’s most valuable, was forced to be restored.
– I know it’s a very famous painting, I just wanted to do something fun, says the man, who in a panic tried to get rid of the mark when he was discovered.
It was in Stockholm in December last year that the 30-year-old and a friend were in town drinking alcohol when they decided to pay a museum visit.
– We went to the National Museum, as I had never been there before, says the man in a police questioning.
Inside the museum, they walked, listened to music, and looked at art, including the giant oil painting “The Equality of Charles XII” in a gold frame.
Photo: POLICE
The brass plate where the sticker was unscrewed for restoration.
The painting, painted in 1884 by the artist Gustaf Cederström and measuring 265 times 371 centimeters in size, is considered one of Sweden’s best-known works of art. It is also one of the most valuable treasures of the National Museum, with great symbolic value.
– So I decided it would be a lot of fun to put a sticker on the board and take a picture and then send it to the person who made the sticker, says the man.
– I don’t think I said anything at all, I just did. It was not planned.
“I like art myself”
The black and white sticker featured a skull with the text “kill Nazism.”
Why did you go to this particular painting? the police wonder.
– It’s Karl XII on the board, he’s quite big in Nazism, so I thought it would be fun to stick the sticker there… I like art, so I didn’t stick it on the board but on the sign on the frame.
Didn’t you think about the consequences of sticking a sticker on such an old board?
– Yes, but I wanted to remove the note after taking the card. I know it is a very famous painting and I just wanted it to be fun.
The museum’s security guards responded immediately. They saw how the man tried to remove the sticker and yelled that he had to move:
– All the painting rocked and I thought it would go to the ground, said one of the guards. The painting is priceless.
I tried to dodge
All were captured on surveillance footage. The film shows how the man reaches the board with something in his hand. A security guard reacts, approaches the man and interrupts him when he is about to take a photo of the artwork with his mobile. The movie then shows how the man tries to remove something from the board as more guards rush forward.
The 30-year-old man voluntarily left the room, but was later said to have resisted strongly and tried to dodge the four guards, who later brought him down.
The man denies the crime but has now been charged, suspected of serious bodily injury.
The decal was affixed to the 30-year-old on a bronze plaque in the frame of the painting. The register had to be unscrewed and left to a museum curator to restore. According to the curator, he had to work for five hours to repair the damage after the decal:
– I had to use white spirit to remove it little by little piece by piece. The work was difficult. After removing the sticker, I had to put a new gold plating on the plate. It was not 100 percent restored.
Compared to Anders Zorn
When asked if the painting itself is damaged, the conservator responds:
– No, not in a physical sense. The question of harm has more to do with symbolic value and the danger of what may happen in the future.
Does it affect the total value of the painting?
– No, but it is related to the previous answer. You can get it if a harmful act is repeated. In other words, what is called “added value”.
The curator equates the painting with other iconic works by contemporary artists, such as Anders Zorn.
– Then I could estimate the value at about 40 million crowns, this is said with reservation.
The National Museum has not claimed any compensation.
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