Ellen Thesleff

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Ellen Thesleff

Ellen Thesleff (born October 5, 1869 in Helsinki ; died January 12, 1954 there ) was a Finnish painter of Expressionism , Impressionism and Symbolism . She is also considered a pioneer of modernity .

Ellen Thesleff - A Finnish Peasant Girl

education

Thesleff grew up in Kuopio in an art-loving family where they made music together, she sang and played the piano; her father was an amateur painter. At the age of 16 she left Kuopio to study in Helsinki at a private drawing school run by Adolf von Becker . Helene Schjerfbeck and Akseli Gallen-Kallela were among her fellow students . In 1888 she continued her studies with Gunnar Berndtson at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. Like many artists of the time, she went to Paris, where she studied from 1891 at the Académie Colarossi under Gustave Courtois and Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret . Several stays in Italy followed; including Florence, as she was particularly interested in Renaissance art . During one of these stays in Italy she met Edward Gordon Craig , who introduced her to the technique of woodcut .

Professional success

Her painting Echo , which she painted in the summer of 1891, was accepted for the Finnish Artists' Association's exhibition , where it was very successful and brought her her breakthrough as an artist. Influenced by Impressionism and Symbolism, she pioneered the Septem group , which brought Impressionism to Finland. In 1951 Thesleff received the Pro Finlandia Medal for Meritorious Artists, awarded by the Finnish President. Thesleff has been attracting increased attention since the 2000s, so from April 2019 to January 2020 a large retrospective entitled Ellen Thesleff - I Paint Like a God took place at the HAM - Helsinki Art Museum .

style

Thesleff was trained in realistic painting and as an artist moved through various phases of modern painting, from symbolism to expressionism, impressionism and modernism. She is particularly known for her expressive choice of motifs, bold use of colors, unusual contrasts and experimental dissolution of forms.

literature

  • Clark Art Institute (Ed.): Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900 , 2018
  • Hamburger Kunsthalle (ed.): Seven Finnish female painters: Fanny Churberg, Maria Wiik, Helene Schjerfbeck, Ellen Thesleff, Beda Stjernschantz, Ester Helenius, Sigrid Schauman , 1983

Web links

Commons : Ellen Thesleff  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://awarewomenartists.com/artiste/ellen-thesleff/
  2. ↑ https://www.sven-harrys.se/en/utforska/konsthallen/ellen-thesleff/om-utstallningen
  3. ↑ https://www.clarkart.edu/Mini-Sites/Women-Artists-in-Paris/Ellen-Thesleff
  4. ↑ https://www.hamhelsinki.fi/en/exhibition/ellen-thesleff/
  5. ↑ https://www.sven-harrys.se/en/utforska/konsthallen/ellen-thesleff/om-utstallningen
  6. ↑ DNB
personal data
SURNAME Thesleff, Ellen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish painter of expressionism, impressionism and symbolism
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Helsinki
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1954
Place of death Helsinki