Konstnärsgillet: Konstliv och föreningsväsende vid mitten av 1800-talet

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to present a biography of Konstnärsgillet, and relate the organisation to the so-called Associations that developed after the fall of l'ancien régime, when the middle classes entered the social arena. The heyday of the Associations took place during the period leading up to the rise of the mass organisations at the end of the 19th century.An investigation of factors that unite rather than separate different 19th century periods has been an important starting-point for the present study. It is possible to perceive at least two tendencies, independent of artistic form, in 19th century Swedish art life; the strivings for a national concept of art as well as attempts to create a free art life.Konstnärsgillet was a bridge between the early and the late 19th century in that previous attempts at creating a free art life and a national concept of art were discussed. Regarding the latter, Konstnärsgillet tried to find a national form for these subjects. Konstnärsgillet passed this on to a younger generation, at least indirectly.Konstnärsgillet was part of a process characterised by the emergence of the middle classes on the social arena but it was not simply a manifestation of this process. From the moment the society was founded it acquired an importance of its own and developed the Associations as well as the artistic and cultural arenas. Previous research has pointed to Konstnärsgillet's importance for the exhibitions, the attempts to create a free art life as well as the importance for national and Norse Revival. I would also like to add that Konstnärsgillet with its more than 750 members constituted an important arena and that the activity was partly an act of emancipation. The interest in Scandinavian art and literature had a strong position in the organisation, something which, among other things, influenced the Royal Academy. Konstnärsgillet also contributed to a widening of the emerging art market.