Willem Boy

Tomb of Gustav I and two of his consorts at Uppsala CathedralWillem Boy (; 1520 – 1592) was a Flemish painter, sculptor, and architect active in Sweden from around 1558 until his death.

Few of Boy's works have survived, and he is mainly remembered for the sarcophagus of King Gustav I in the Uppsala Cathedral.

Early life He is believed to have originated from Mechelen and to have arrived in Sweden no later than 1558 during the late reign of Gustav Vasa to work as a painter of portraits. Within a few years, he became one of the country's leading artists, whose talents proved helpful in a wide range of fields; for example, he led the construction of the fortification at Vaxholm in 1589. Even though few of his works have survived, his influence on Swedish culture was considerable.

Sarcophagi

Boy is thought to have soon returned to Flanders to spend six years working on the sarcophagus of Gustav Vasa and his two first consorts Catherine and Margaret. In 1571, he was finally able to send the statues of the king and his wives to Sweden. In 1572, he went to England to buy marble and alabaster for the rest of the monument. However, in 1567 he had borrowed 1.000 daler for the project and when the bond proprietor in Antwerp was informed the statues happened to be in the city, she presented the bonds to the city magistrates and, as the defendant failed to present himself, the statues were confiscated.

When Boy was informed of the situation, he immediately had the repayment postponed and wrote a letter to the Swedish monarch, who happened to be in Kalmar. The infuriated king wrote a letter to the Duke of Alba to have the monument sent to Sweden. Furthermore, to ensure Dutch merchants in Sweden would support his cause, he threatened to deprive them of their favoured position and demanded that they provide security at least equal to the value of the monument. The Dutch magistrates eventually backed down, and Boy was given a respite. The sarcophagus was safely delivered to Uppsala in 1583. The main volume in red marble measures 2.77×2×1.36 m with pillars on the corners 1.68 m tall. The statues are made of white marble with crowns and sceptres in gilded bronze.

The centre of this rectangular Renaissance palace was the vaulted palace church, with surrounding rooms connected by open arcades and loggias. The choirs of the church possibly had ogive and rose windows like those at Vadstena Castle. Characteristic of the palaces built during this era were towers and pinnacles with adorned hoods, bay windows, arcades, and galleries and these were probably also prominent features of the Renaissance palace at Drottningholm.

Portraits The alabaster monument of Princess Isabella (1564–1566), daughter of John III, is in Strängnäs Cathedral. silver coins, a court dress, and emoluments in kind.

On 28 February 1562, Boy travelled to Antwerp, and in 1565 he arrived in Stockholm where King John III appointed him a salary of 1.600 marks silver coins annually and emoluments in kind (corn, hops, a court dress, and lodging).

In 1577 he received 200 daler, 144 hectoliters of corn, one court dress, 10 pounds of hop, 1 barrel of salt, 1 barrel of butter, three oxen, eight sheep, six pigs, 2 barrels of salmon, 1 barrel of cod, 10 pounds of pike, 1 barrel of herring, and fodder for a horse – in total worth 399½ daler.

Work Three Crown Castle, Stockholm Gävle Castle, completed in 1597. Monument of Gustav Vasa at the Uppsala Cathedral. Svartsjö Palace. Saint James's church, Stockholm, 1580-93. Drottningholm Palace Uppsala Castle