Swedish family of patrons and collectors. The architect (1) Nicodemus Tessin built the royal palace at Drottningholm (begun 1662), so introducing the French Baroque style into Sweden. He also designed other palaces, villas and churches as well as the Bank of Sweden (1675) in Stockholm. The main work of his son (2) Nicodemus Tessin is the Royal Palace (1696-1753) in Stockholm, which derives from Roman Renaissance models but has interiors in the contemporary French style. Through this and other works, including some outside Sweden, he achieved a European reputation and influence. In addition to being an adept draughtsman, he created a collection of drawings that was expanded by his son (3) Carl Gustav Tessin, the most important collector in Sweden. While ambassador in Paris Carl Gustav bought several paintings by contemporary French artists, but the main emphasis of his collection was on drawings, especially Italian and French, from the Renaissance onwards.
The following members have entries:
See the Abbreviations for further details.
