A Scholarly Skater

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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Tullgarns Slott, Södermanland, Sweden

Categories: Gargoyle of the Day

tullgarn_spygatt_2011 — Gargoyle on Tullgarn Palace in Sweden. Photo by Holger.Ellgaard (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tullgarn_Spygatt_2011.jpg

Tullgarns Slott (Tullgarn Palace, in English) is an elegant summer palace of Swedish monarchy, built in the 1720s. Tullgarn is a mixture of several architectural styles and has beautiful wrought iron work, including these unusual-yet-functional gargoyles. The cream and peace Neo-Classical palace exterior (image below) hardly looks like someplace where one might find gargoyles, but here they are! I love this gargoyle’s stylized face, the exaggerated curves of the tongue and plumage, and the minimalist treatment of the body. It reminds me of a Chinese dragon, and it’s definitely not what I expected to find when I looked up Swedish gargoyles, but I always love gargoyle-related surprises.

tullgarns_slott_fasad_vc3a4st_2012a — Tullgarns Slott in Sweden. Photo by Holger.Ellgaard (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tullgarns_slott_fasad_v%C3%A4st_2012a

Tags: gargoyles, grotesques, mansion, Nordic

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The mission of A Scholarly Skater Art History is to make historical art and architecture accessible to everyone.
I’m Alexandra, an art historian who believes that looking at art can enrich everyone’s life. Welcome to my website!
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An important note

Art history is an inherently subjective field, and my perspective isn’t the only one. I encourage all my readers to seek out differing opinions and read multiple sources to get a broader and more complete view of this complex and fascinating field of study. Read my disclaimers for more information.