Emotions interpreted by Dürer, Munch and Rembrandt

This spring's big exhibition at Nationalmuseum (Stockholm, Sweden), Passions, is all about emotion in art. The exhibition features over 100 works from the Renaissance to the present day, some from Nationalmuseum’s own collections, and others obtained on loan. The works will be a mix of painting, sculpture, video, drawing and graphic art, by artists such as Dürer, Munch, Rembrandt, Tony Oursler, Rineke Dijkstra and Bill Viola.

Passions–Five Centuries of Art and the Emotions, examines how the emotions are interpreted and portrayed in art. Body language has been a source of fascination through the ages, right up to the present day. Self-help books and courses offer guidance on interpreting the secret language of the human body and on appropriate body language for various situations. Artists have been interested in the emotions, and how they are expressed, since ancient times, depicting facial expressions, gestures and body language in their works to convey sorrow, suffering, fear, melancholy, tenderness and joy.

The exhibition also encourages visitors to reflect on their own emotions. Do we always show our feelings, or do we hide them? How do we show what we feel? Are we laughing with or at someone? Mirrors on the gallery walls will confront exhibition visitors with their own and their fellow visitors’ reactions to the artworks and the emotions conveyed.

Date: until August 12
Location: Nationalmuseum. Södra Blasieholmshamnen. Stockholm. Sweden.
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Thursday from 11am to 8pm. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 11am to 5pm. 

See some of the artworks in the following slideshow: