Finland · 150th birthday of Helene Schjerfbeck

Helene Schjerfbeck came from a Swedish-speaking family in Helsinki. A hip injury sustained in childhood impaired her mobility and led to her being taught at home for periods of time. At the age of eleven, she was admitted to the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society. She later continued her training in Paris, including at the Académie Colarossi. Study and work stays also took her to Brittany and to the English artists’ colony of St Ives.

Her early paintings were influenced by French Realism and Naturalism. She painted historical scenes, portraits and depictions of everyday life. Among her well-known early works is “Die Genesende”, which received an award at the Paris World’s Fair in 1889. In later decades, Schjerfbeck increasingly simplified forms and areas of colour. Her style thus moved away from detailed academic representation and towards modernism.

After returning to Finland, she worked for periods as a teacher at the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society. For health reasons, she withdrew to Hyvinkää, where she lived with her mother and continued working. The art dealer Gösta Stenman promoted her work and organised a solo exhibition in Helsinki in 1917. During the final years of her life, she stayed in Sweden.

The numerous self-portraits form a distinctive part of her oeuvre. Over several decades, Schjerfbeck portrayed herself, examining age, illness and the changing appearance of her own face. The late paintings are often highly reduced; contours and facial features are sometimes only suggested. The self-portrait as a coin motif therefore refers not only to her person but also to a central group of works.

The anniversary issue places Schjerfbeck within the history of Finnish art. Her career connects the academic training of the 19th century with the formal developments of European modernism. The calendrical anniversary gave Finland a specific occasion to honour an artist whose works were also exhibited outside the country.