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Skokloster Castle has witnessed a continuous process of change, as paintings and art objects have been moved around over the centuries. Each owner has added artworks and objects to the collection. The castle was commissioned by Count Carl Gustav Wrangel, and construction work started in 1654. Skokloster has almost 1,000 artworks, just under 600 of which are portraits. In the first half of the seventeenth century, Sweden and the Netherlands developed commercial ties, and Wrangel’s agent purchased paintings on his behalf in The Hague and Amsterdam. Their correspondence has been preserved. It reveals, for example, Wrangel’s pleasure with the four paintings he had bought by Jan Steen. The paintings from Wrangel’s collection that remained at Skokloster were those inherited by his eldest daughter. Other owners have added other artworks over the years. There are notable paintings by Jacob Jordaens, Anselm van Hulle, and Jan Steen, and also on display is Joseph and His Brothers, signed by Gerbrand van Eckhout in 1657.

Annika Williams, Curator (August 2023)