Carolina Redeviva University Library

Interior of one of the oldest book rooms in Carolina Rediviva, Uppsala, Sweden.

We received a guided tour of the special collections at Carolina Redeviva Uppsala University Library. Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed by Axel Johan Anderberg and Peter Celsing. The name, literally "Carolina Revived", was given in remembrance of the oldAcademia Carolina building, which had functioned as university library for most of the 18th century. Carolina Rediviva is the oldest and largest university library building in the country. It is also the site where the Codex Argenteus and the Cancionero de Upsala are kept.

Memoires Pour Servir a L'Histoire Des Insects Par Charles De Geer

Caroli Linnaei Methodus Avium Sveticarum

Carl Clerk (1709-1765), Swedish entomologist and arachnologist

Double Elephant-Sized Folio

Uppsala Cathedral

Uppsala Cathedral is located between Uppsala University and the River Fyris in the centre of Uppsala, southeastern Sweden.

The cathedral dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 metres (389 ft), it is the tallest church building in the Nordic countries and Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism, it was used for coronations of Swedish monarchs for a lengthy period following the Protestant Reformation. Several of its chapels were converted to house the tombs of Swedish monarchs, including Gustav Vasa and John III. Carolus Linnaeus, Olaus Rudbeck, Emanuel Swedenborg, and several archbishops are also buried here.

The church was designed in the French Gothic style by French architects including Étienne de Bonneuil. It is in the form of a cross formed by the nave and transept. Most of the structure was built between 1272 and 1420 but the western end was completed only in the middle of the 15th century. Twin towers were built shortly afterwards on the west end of the church. High spires were added later, but after a fire in 1702, they were adorned with low helmets by Carl Hårleman in 1735. They were completely redesigned by Helgo Zetterwall who undertook substantial changes to the building in the 1880s. The cathedral's principal construction material is brick but the pillars and many details are of Gotland limestone.The vaults were all built according to the original 13th century plan although some of them were erected as late as around 1440. In addition to the artwork in the funeral chapels, several of the church's older furnishings can be seen in the Treasury Museum. In 1702, many features were destroyed in a major fire. During the renovation work carried out in the 1970s, many of the medieval frescoes which had been whitewashed over after the Reformation were uncovered and restored. the afternoon we visited the oldest botanical garden in Sweden (1655) as well the museum which was Linnaeus' town home for about 30 years.

Uppsala Cathedral

Interior Uppsala Cathedral

Linnaeus' Hammarby

Today we flew into Stockholm, Sweden, took a shuttle to Uppsala, dropped off our bags at the hotel and journeyed to the Linnaeus summer cottage.  A little history on Linnaeus:

Linnaeus was born in the countryside of southern Sweden.   He was a botanist, physician, and zoologist who pioneered binomial nomenclature.  He is known as the father of modern taxonomy as well as of modern ecology.  Linnaeus received most of his higher education at Uppsala University, and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published a first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden, where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 60s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, and published several volumes. At the time of his death, he was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe.

During Linnaeus' time as Professor and Rector of Uppsala University, he taught many devoted students, 17 of whom he called "apostles". They were the most promising, most committed students, and all of them made botanical expeditions to various places in the world, often with his help. The amount of this help varied; sometimes he used his influence as Rector to grant his apostles a scholarship or a place on an expedition. To most of the apostles he gave instructions of what to look for on their journeys. Abroad, the apostles collected and organised new plants, animals and minerals according to Linnaeus' system. Most of them also gave some of their collection to Linnaeus when their journey was finished. Thanks to these students, the Linnaean system of taxonomy spread through the world without Linnaeus ever having to travel outside Sweden after his return from Holland. However, many of the apostles died during their expeditions.

Swedish king Adolf Frederick granted Linnaeus nobility in 1757. With his ennoblement, he took the name Carl von Linné (Latinized as Carolus a Linné), 'Linné' being a shortened and gallicised version of 'Linnæus', and the German title 'von' signifying his ennoblement. The noble family's coat of arms prominently features a twinflower, one of Linnaeus' favourite plants; it was given the scientific name Linnaea borealis in his honour by Gronovius. The shield in the coat of arms is divided into thirds: red, black and green for the three kingdoms of nature (animal, mineral and vegetable) in Linnaean classification; in the center is an egg "to denote Nature, which is continued and perpetuated in ovo." At the bottom is a phrase in Latin, borrowed from the Aeneid, which reads "FAMAM EXTENDERE FACTIS": we extend our fame by our deeds.


Linnaeus' Hammarby

Linnaeus felt Uppsala was too noisy and unhealthy, so he bought two farms in 1758: Hammarby and Sävja. The next year, he bought a neighbouring farm, Edeby. He spent the summers with his family at Hammarby; initially it only had a small one-storey house, but in 1762 a new, larger main building was added.  In Hammarby, Linnaeus made a garden where he could grow plants that could not be grown in the Botanical Garden in Uppsala. He began constructing a museum on a hill behind Hammarby in 1766, where he moved his library and collection of plants. A fire that destroyed about one third of Uppsala and had threatened his residence there necessitated the move.

Getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere.

We were dropped off approximately 15 miles outside of Uppsala, then walked 2 kilometers to Linnaeus' Hammarby.  It was such a lovely walk.  Fields of grains, wild apples, and beautiful blue skies.

I particularly enjoyed seeing all of the prints by Georg Dionysius Ehret that Linnaeus had pasted all over his walls.  What inspiration!

The Foragers

We were rather hungry at the end of our expedition so we foraged on wild apples and red clover.

Why Beauty Matters

Here is a great video by Philosopher Roger Scruton. Here is the description from the website:

Philosopher Roger Scruton presents a provocative essay on the importance of beauty in the arts and in our lives.

In the 20th century, Scruton argues, art, architecture and music turned their backs on beauty, making a cult of ugliness and leading us into a spiritual desert.

Using the thoughts of philosophers from Plato to Kant, and by talking to artists Michael Craig-Martin and Alexander Stoddart, Scruton analyses where art went wrong and presents his own impassioned case for restoring beauty to its traditional position at the center of our civilization.


http://rclvideolibrary.com/2012/12/08/why-beauty-matters/

The Banishment of Beauty presented by Scott Burdick

This is the presentation Scott Burdick made in Laguna Beach for American Artist's "Weekend With the Masters" event. It deals with the issues as he sees them between traditional and "modern" art.

Conserving Old Master Drawings: A Balancing Act

A fundamental role of a museum is to care for its collection and preserve it for future generations. European drawings from the 1300s to the late 1800s, or old master drawings, are particularly vulnerable--they are on paper and hundreds of years old. A paper conservator must find the balance between maintaining the historical integrity of the drawing while preserving the appearance intended by the artist.

Watch a Getty conservator analyze and treat a drawing using a variety of techniques in this short video.

Great Museums : An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The extraordinary legacy of Philippe de Montebello, who served for 31 years as Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During his tenure, Mr. de Montebello guided the acquisition of more than 84,000 works of art, demanded innovation in conservation techniques, and oversaw the doubling of the physical size of this world-renowned cultural institution. For more information, visithttp://greatmuseums.org.