Lunch tour Fridays at 12:30 PM.

Ystad Art Museum's director Ýrr Jonasdottír will showcase the painting "Skånska dragoner rida till bad" at 12:30 on the museum's second floor. The tour is included in the admission ticket.

Since the Ystad Military Historical Museum closed earlier this year, there has been discussion about how and where the gigantic painting "Skånska dragoner rida till bad" should be displayed. This 4.6 x 10 meter painting by Danish artist Oscar Matthiesen has been exhibited in various locations in Ystad since the 1950s but has never been shown in its full size, often needing to be folded. Now, Ystad Art Museum is finally displaying the painting in its original size!

The original title of Matthiesen's painting is "Skaanske dragonofficerer rider i bad." Matthiesen, who lived from 1861 to 1957, got the idea for the motif during a vacation in Ystad in 1904. At that time, Ystad housed Europe’s largest cavalry regiment, which greatly influenced the city. Matthiesen was inspired by the young soldiers, the sun, saltwater, and the strong bodies of both animals and humans. Most of the men depicted are officers who were serving at the Ystad cavalry regiment when the painting was created.

As a result of industrialization and urbanization, there was a tendency in the early 1900s to reconnect with nature. This was seen as a way to strengthen modern man, perceived to be in decline regarding race, class, and gender. There was particular concern that men had become weaker. In art, images of naked bodies exuding youth and vitality, enhanced by sunlight and surrounding nature, expressed a certain ideal of masculinity.

The vital body, often the male body, was depicted naked within sports and outdoor life, showcasing a level of exposure not seen since antiquity. This trend constitutes a movement within Nordic ideas and art history: vitalism.