Vädersolstavlan
The oldest surviving depiction of Stockholm — a 1630s copy of a lost 1535 painting recording a strange ‘sun dog’ sky over the medieval city.
Storkyrkan
The painting shows a real, identified place that you can find today. The exact spot the artist worked from is not necessarily known.
Vädersolstavlan — at a glance
- Artist
- Jacob Heinrich Elbfas (attrib.), after a lost 1535 original
- Year
- 1630s (image dated 1535)
- Movement
- Early modern Swedish painting
- Place
- Medieval Stockholm (the Old Town island), Sweden
- Viewpoint
- A bird's-eye view of Gamla stan from the west — street plan and Storkyrkan survive; castle and walls gone
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Dimensions
- c. 163 × 110 cm
- Now at
- Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral), Stockholm
Overview
The Vädersolstavlan is the earliest surviving picture of Stockholm. The panel now in Storkyrkan, the city's cathedral, is a copy made in the 1630s — attributed to the court painter Jacob Heinrich Elbfas — of a lost original of 1535. The upper part shows a dramatic optical display over the city on 20 April 1535: the sun ringed by halos and flanked by bright ‘sun dogs’ (parhelia), a phenomenon the clergy of the day argued about. The lower part is a careful, bird's-eye view of the walled medieval town on its islands. It is oil on panel, about 163 by 110 cm.
The story behind the painting
Scholarship The original was commissioned by the reformer Olaus Petri after the 1535 halo display, which some in Stockholm read as an omen against King Gustav Vasa; the king suspected Olaus Petri of using it to stir opposition. The picture is thus both a scientific record of a rare atmospheric phenomenon and a document of a religious-political dispute. The 1535 panel wore out and was replaced by the surviving copy a century later.
Where was Vädersolstavlan painted?
Scholarship The lower half shows Stockholm's Old Town (Gamla stan) island, Stadsholmen, from the west: the ring wall and towers, the royal castle Tre Kronor (destroyed by fire in 1697), the church of Storkyrkan, gabled houses, ships in the water, and the surrounding hills of Södermalm and the mainland. The island street plan, Storkyrkan and many building lines survive in today's Gamla stan, so parts of the skyline can still be traced; the castle and the walls are gone.
What is in the painting?
Across the top, a pale sky with the sun at the centre of two large concentric halo rings, with additional bright spots (sun dogs) and arcs where the rings cross — several suns seemingly in the sky at once. Below, the compact walled city on its island: towers, spires, the great castle, red-roofed houses, quays and sailing ships, with green hills beyond.
Look closely
The many suns
The sun sits at the centre of two halo rings with bright spots where they cross — several suns at once.
The Tre Kronor castle
The great royal castle on the island — it burned down in 1697 and was replaced by the present palace.
Storkyrkan
The church that still holds the painting is shown among the medieval spires.
The ring wall
Towers and a defensive wall enclose the Old Town island — long since removed.
Meaning and interpretation
Interpretations differ. What the artist documented, what museums and scholars propose, and later or speculative theories are marked and kept separate.
Omen and record
For contemporaries the ‘many suns’ were a portent, and the picture was caught up in the struggle over the Reformation and royal power in Sweden. For later viewers it is prized as an accurate early depiction both of a halo phenomenon and of a city that has largely vanished behind its later self.
History & provenance
The panel hangs in Storkyrkan (the Church of St Nicholas / Stockholm Cathedral), in the Old Town of Stockholm.
Sources
- Storkyrkan / Stockholms stadsmuseum — the Vädersolstavlan (‘Sun Dog Painting’)
- Stockholms stadsmuseum research on the 1535 original and the 1630s copy
Frequently asked
Is the Vädersolstavlan really from 1535?
The image is, but the surviving panel is not. It is a 1630s copy, attributed to Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, of a lost 1535 original that had worn out.
What is the sky phenomenon?
A halo display: the sun ringed by ice-crystal halos and flanked by bright ‘sun dogs’ (parhelia), so that several suns seem to hang in the sky. It was seen over Stockholm on 20 April 1535.
Is the city view accurate?
Broadly. It shows Stockholm's Old Town island from the west, with the ring wall, the Tre Kronor castle (burned 1697) and Storkyrkan. The street plan, Storkyrkan and many building lines survive in Gamla stan; the castle and walls are gone.
Why was the painting controversial?
The 1535 display was read by some as an omen against King Gustav Vasa; the king suspected the reformer Olaus Petri, who commissioned the picture, of exploiting it politically.
Where is it now?
In Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral), in the Old Town of Stockholm.
