{"title":"Schjerfbeck, Helene","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHelene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946)\u003c\/strong\u003e was a Finnish painter whose work developed from nineteenth-century Naturalism into a highly individual form of modernism. Best known for her portraits and self-portraits, she gradually simplified figures and backgrounds, using muted colour, delicate surfaces and expressive brushwork to convey character and mood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSchjerfbeck was born in Helsinki on 10 July 1862. A childhood injury left her with a lasting difficulty walking, but her talent for drawing was recognised early. At the age of eleven she entered the Finnish Art Society’s Drawing School, later studying at Adolf von Becker’s private academy. A scholarship enabled her to travel to Paris in 1880, where she continued her training at the Académie Trélat and Académie Colarossi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn France she encountered the naturalist painting then favoured by many young artists, while also developing an interest in subjects from everyday life. She worked in Brittany, including Pont-Aven and nearby Concarneau, and became part of the wider artistic circle associated with the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/pont-aven-school-the\"\u003ePont-Aven School\u003c\/a\u003e. During her Paris years she befriended \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/stokes-marianne\"\u003eMarianne Stokes\u003c\/a\u003e, then Marianne Preindlsberger, with whom she painted in Brittany.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSchjerfbeck visited St Ives in Cornwall in 1887 and returned in 1889, staying in contact with Marianne and her husband, the painter Adrian Stokes. The Cornish coast and its fishing communities provided subjects for her paintings, including \u003cem\u003eThe Old Bakehouse\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eView of St Ives\u003c\/em\u003e. Her best-known early work, \u003cem\u003eThe Convalescent\u003c\/em\u003e (1888), depicts a child seated beside a table and demonstrates her sensitive handling of light and expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReturning to Finland in the early 1890s, Schjerfbeck taught at the Finnish Art Society’s drawing school in Helsinki. Poor health led her to leave teaching in 1902, and she moved with her mother to Hyvinkää. Although she travelled less frequently, she continued to study reproductions of European paintings and experiment with her own technique. Her portraits and still lifes became increasingly spare, with forms reduced to essential outlines and carefully balanced areas of colour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe art dealer Gösta Stenman helped bring her work to a wider audience, organising her first solo exhibition in Helsinki in 1917. She moved to Tammisaari in 1925 and continued painting throughout her later years. Her many self-portraits show a striking progression from conventional likenesses to pared-down, sometimes unsettling images of ageing and introspection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the Second World War Schjerfbeck moved to Sweden, where she died at Saltsjöbaden on 23 January 1946. Today she is regarded as a central figure in Finnish modern art, admired for the independence and continual development of her painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExplore related artists in the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/pont-aven-school-the\"\u003ePont-Aven School\u003c\/a\u003e and read about her friend \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/stokes-marianne\"\u003eMarianne Stokes\u003c\/a\u003e, with whom she painted in France.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"schjerfbeck-helene-1862-1946-the-seamstress-1903","title":"Schjerfbeck, Helene (1862-1946) - The Seamstress 1903","description":"\u003cp\u003eArtwork by the Finnish artist Helene Schjerfbeck featuring a lady sitting in a rocking chair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis download consists of 1 image in JPEG format that is 600dpi and 3612 pixels wide by 4026 pixels tall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe picture is out of copyright and in the public domain, so you are free to use it in whatever way you'd like, including commercial use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead more about \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.publicdomainimagelibrary.com\/collections\/schjerfbeck-helene\" title=\"Helene Schjerfbeck\"\u003eHelene Schjerfbeck\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Digital Download - 1 image","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64329478504778,"sku":null,"price":0.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0776\/7965\/7290\/files\/Schjerfbeck_Helene_1862-1946_-TheSeamstress1903_main.jpg?v=1794336119"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0776\/7965\/7290\/collections\/Schjerfbeck_Helene_1862-1946.jpg?v=1794335802","url":"https:\/\/www.publicdomainimagelibrary.com\/collections\/schjerfbeck-helene.oembed","provider":"Public Domain Image Library","version":"1.0","type":"link"}