The first known picture of a Swedish Lucia

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This is the first known picture of a Swedish Lucia. It was painted in 1848 on Koberg Castle in Västergötland (today the residence of Princess Desirée, the king’s sister). The artist was lieutenant-colonel and count Fritz von Dardel, owner of the castle and aide-de-camp to king Karl XV.

Von Dardel, who married one of the previous owners of the castle, seems to have been surprised by this vision of beauty. As you can see, he was quite proficient with the paintbrush, having studied art in Paris, and he made a lot of similar drawings to amuse the king’s court, and he also wrote a number of books.
The picture is a watercolour, painted 1848, now on display in Nordiska Museet, Stockholm.

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