Jenny had set herself a particular goal for her studies, namely winning the annual competition for the Royal Medal and being awarded a scholarship to study abroad. In 1881, Jenny clinched first place with her painting Gustav Vasa som barn inför kung Hans [Gustav Vasa as a child before King Hans]. But because she was a woman, it was not considered appropriate for her to be the sole prizewinner, so she had to share the prize with a male fellow student. ‘The medal painting’, as it is called, is perhaps Jenny’s best-known painting. She spent many hours at Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred to get the setting just right and she sewed costumes for the models herself. Her fiancé, Daniel Stoopendahl, posed as King Hans. There is powerful symbolism in the painting: the light falls on the good child and the shadow on the wicked, suspicious king, who wants to take Gustav to Denmark to gain control over him there. The dog represents loyalty and the sword symbolises war.