The Stenbock family in Their Library

This painting depicts the Swedish family Stenbock in their library at Rånäs. The man on the right holds a paper that reads “le passe m´intendit et le present m´accable j´espere dans l´avenir un sort plus supportable”. On the far right by the door the family chaplan is seen looking in through the door as to make sure that nothing inappropriate takes place. In the background above the books we see portraits of prominent Swedish noblemen connected to the Stenbock family. Above each portrait is an informational inscription about the depicted. The painting is considered to be the first interior scene of a library used as a sitting room from a Swedish home. It also depicts the melancholic intellectual mood of the times.