Helene Schjerfbeck: Painting the Soul
Helene Schjerfbeck, Self-portrait with Black Background, 1915
As a Finnish person, when I think of Finnish art, I think of Helene Schjerfbeck. Exhibited at the Finnish National Gallery, the presence of her art punctuated my every visit there. I would always go to her and take a moment to stare at her striking self-portraits. Helene Sofia (Helene) Schjerfbeck was born in 1862 in the city of Helsinki, at the time part of the Grand Duchy of Finland and a part of the Russian empire. Helene fell down the stairs as a small child, making walking difficult for her. Unable to attend a regular school, she was homeschooled - and her teacher discovered her unusual talent for painting. She became a painter who distinguished herself by producing many Finnish history paintings, scarce at the time. She also produced self-portraits and landscapes as well as realist paintings.
Later in her career, she created innovative modernist paintings. She won a bronze medal for her painting The Convalescent at the Paris World Fair of 1889. Many of her works were exhibited, notably in Copenhagen, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Gothenburg, and Malmö and she engaged with an impressively wide range of art movements during her lifetime. She received a certain level of success at a time when women artists were often denied opportunities, but her contribution to the development of the Finnish national identity in the 19th century was for a very long time underappreciated. The paintings that were celebrated when she was alive were mainly paintings deemed “appropriate” for women painters: scenes of domesticity, portraits of women and children and so forth. Even though she was not keen on participating in the national romantic movement that other artists such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela were embracing, we cannot ignore her participation in the legacy of Finnish art. For instance, her bronze medal at the Paris World Fair enabled Finnish art to spread a little more beyond its geographical limits. She was also a teacher at the Art Society Drawing School in Finland, where she influenced later figures such as Hilda Flodin.
Helene Schjerfbeck, Wounded Warrior in the Snow, 1880
The painting Wounded Warrior in the Snow depicts what might be the last moments of a man fallen in battle. We can see a soldier sitting in the snow, against a lone tree. In the background, there is the faraway shadow of troops, perhaps walking away from him. His head is tilted against the tree trunk, eyes open, with an empty look. He is still holding his bayonet in his right hand, as if still scared of being attacked. We can imagine his fear; he is wounded, alone and most likely freezing in the snow. He is still holding onto his weapon because he has not yet given up hope. The painting evokes tragedy and loneliness, while confronting the idea of death and war.
Helene Schjerfbeck, The Convalescent, 1888
The Convalescent depicts a child sitting in a large chair, holding on to a cup with a twig inside. We understand that he is convalescent because of his reddened cheeks, his messy hair and the pillow and blanket laid with him on the chair. This image evokes in me a strong sense of coziness, but also of childhood nostalgia. The child seems to be at home; his clothes are simple, perhaps pajamas, and the plant is sitting on a big oak table, surrounded by a large bookshelf. He is playing with the plant, comfortable in his surroundings. The proportions add to the sense of coziness; the child is much smaller than the furniture around him, and we can imagine him getting lost in the pillow if he laid back against it. There is a curiosity in his eyes as he looks at the plant; perhaps he planted it himself and was watching it grow. The painting evokes a strong sense of childhood, when one is sick at home, engulfed in pillows to keep warm.
Helene Schjerfbeck, Girl with Blonde Hair, 1916
Girl with Blond Hair is a good example of Helene Schjerfbeck’s French Modernism, a cultural and artistic movement that strove to replace traditional techniques and artistic approaches with new ways of expressing oneself. We can see these elements in this painting, which depicts a woman with long and elegant blond hair. She seems to be sitting down, holding a newspaper, her head tilted as though she is reading. Contrary to earlier paintings by Helene Schjerfeck, it does not include many details; the woman is present in the painting almost in a blur, and we cannot see any features of her face. Only certain elements, like her blond hair and her red lips seem to pin down her figure by their striking light and colour. The woman is depicted like a dream or a mirage. We can see her, but not fully, almost as if we cannot reach her. She is not making eye contact with the audience either, giving us the impression that we are only observing her, without being able to fully see her.
To me, these paintings evoke many different emotions and concepts; war and loneliness, childhood and melancholy, and femininity and beauty.