We welcome Dan as our host this week, and the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this time is to capture moments that break the boundaries of our everyday life.
Today I have chosen to write about a Swedish prince who broke free from his life as a royal and from the conventions and norms he was expected to follow. To feel Unbound. I hope this twist is OK with you, Dan!
Prince Eugen of Sweden was the son of King Oscar II and Sophia of Nassau.
Showing early artistic promise, he studied in Paris, and went on to become one of Sweden’s most prominent landscape painters.
We visited his home in Stockholm, at the beautiful Waldemarsudde.
After finishing high school, Prince Eugen studied art history at Uppsala University. He did not make the decision to pursue a career in painting easily, not least because of his royal status.
Prince Eugen was very open-minded and never married, in an era when royal princes almost always found princesses to wed. His homosexual orientation was unknown to the general public.
In this gallery, we see the prince painting, and next to him another famous Swedish painter, Carl Larsson. His home Waldemarsudde, and pieces from his collections. The last painting was my favourite of his own paintings, The Blue Villa.
Prins Eugen loved Norway, and was also a prince of Norway before the union was dissolved in 1905. He loved flowers, and one of his famous designs is a flower pot – Waldemarsuddekrukan.
Throughout his life Prince Eugen was an art collector, a designer and a supporter of fellow artists. He was also involved in many cultural organisations and committees. He bequeathed his villa Waldemarsudde at Djurgården in Stockholm, and its collections, to the nation. It is now one of Sweden’s most popular museums.
Sincere thanks to Dan for this interesting challenge, “unbound”. Please be sure to visit and link to his amazing post here, and remember to use the Lens-Artists Tag. Thanks also to Dawn for last week’s Fences challenge, and to you for the incredible variety of responses. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week when Janet of This, That and The Other Thing will join us as our final Guest Host of the month. Until then, please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Leya 
I almost overlooked your post this week for some reason, Ann-Christine. I would love to see this place in person, and the prince was surely unbound.
Ah, well, but you didn’t! It is a very peaceful and beautiful place. He had a great taste for simple elegance.
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A great take on the challenge, Ann-Christine. I love all the photos, you captured a fascinating place and artist with such care. Beautiful.
Thank you, Sofia! I think the twist was rather fun!
Love the frames!
Thanks!
You are welcome, AC.
Beautiful pictures, Ann-Christine, and I enjoyed reading about Prince Eugen!
I am glad you enjoyed it, Sylvia!
Leya, this was a fun twist to the prompt. I love your thoughts about the photos you took – such exquisite framing of each space in the museum. The elegance he surrounded himself with is impressive. Prince Eugen’s last painting is my favorite too. Well done!
Thank you, Shelley! I love it that he followed his heart, however difficult it must have been.
You’re welcome! 🥰😍😊
Interesting.
Thank you, Rupali.
Very interesting!
Thank you!
As you know, what makes this so special is his story. We all have hard decisions in our live, but to decide there was more to life that royalty is admirable. To think he went on to live a purpose-driven life is a life well lived. Stunning work, and what a beautiful home/museum. I love your careful and detail look at both his home and his life, AC. I loved looking out the windows. it kinda gives you an idea of his inspiration, doesn’t it? Unbound, indeed.
Thank you, Donna – my thoughts too, a life well lived. He followed his heart however difficult that must have been.
I love your take on, AC! Thank you for the tour of the story and artworks. The Blue Villa is beautiful, so are those vases.
Thank you, Amy, happy you liked my take on. Wasn’t sure what Dan would think, but it seems to have been ok.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story, Ann-Christine. It shows some unboundness is possible even for bound people living in demanding times. Creatively using the possible limits.
I assume, he wasn’t the firstborn and thus the supposed next king. Having that role would have caused him more problems for a couple of reasons.
True, if he had been the first born, he might not have been able to follow his heart at all.
😊
This is a treat since I know so little about Norway. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you, Dan. I enjoyed your challenge a lot, and it was good to tell his story. I love it that he followed his heart.
What an interesting story . . . another place to put on my short list if I ever get back to Stockholm 🙂 ! Love that Uppsala came up – the birthplace of my paternal grandmother Mai . . . naughty girl she was – met my grandfather in Stockholm, fell in love and lust and managed to run away all the way to Tartu saying, ‘You better marry me, or I will have lost all my reputation!’. Grandpa could not believe his luck . . .
Haha, a really good story, Eha! I quite understand where you got your humour and stamina from!
Lovely post! I liked that it tells a story, everything tied together. It looks that you had a very enjoyable visit.
Thanks, it was a great day. Lovely weather and beautiful art and the house was a dream.
Cool twist Ann-Christine! I liked his story and art–and your wonderful photos.
Thank you so much, Anne. I think his story was worth being told.
A very interesting post about someone I’d never heard of. The house looks lovely and while I like your favourite blue villa painting, my own favourite is the one above it to the right, number 7 in your numbering 🙂
Glad you liked the post – and we have the same favourite painting. But it is not his, I am not very fond of his art, but in his collections there are some great ones. The villa is in fact about the only one I liked in his own gallery.
I did wonder because the style seemed very different!
Looks like you had a wonderful day there. The views from the windows enticed me at once. Not easy to go against the grain as a Royal so I’m glad he had a happy life. I envy anyone who can paint. 🤗🩵
Incidentally, the postcard is on its way to you.
Thank you, Jo, and yes – I loved the windows and I loved it that he followed his heart. Waiting for the card!
🤗🩵
Love the twist and the house. What fabulous windows especially the curved ones. A place that I would love to visit, so thank you for taking me there.
Glad you enjoyed it, Jude. I had never been there before, even if it is in Stockholm. I am glad I finally visited.
Great twist to the theme.
Thank you, Nes!
Very cool story…thanks for this mini history lesson!
You are welcome!
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Living a life unbound – I love that angle 🙂. Beautiful paintings indeed!
Thanks, PR. I think it took a lot of courage to go against old conventions and his parents. Art should be a hobby, you could not make a living from it. He was a tough young man!
That’s right – it requires a lot of courage to not do what others want you to do! Art – well there have been and still are, successful artists too. I guess it’s a matter of luck too besides having the talent.
True, if you don’t have luck with the right connections – then you are lost.
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Looks a fascinating place to visit, A C
It certainly was. We staid for several hours.
Good to hear