Camellias

Helene Schjerfbeck prints bring the quiet strength and pared-back beauty of one of Finland's greatest painters into your home. Schjerfbeck's long career moved from finely observed realism to strikingly simple, modern portraits and some of the most searching self-portraits of the 20th century. Our collection of fine art prints covers her early history and genre paintings, portraits of girls and women, still lifes and self-portraits.

About Helene Schjerfbeck

Helena Sofia Schjerfbeck was born in Helsinki on 10 July 1862. A fall at the age of four injured her hip and left her with a limp for life. At eleven she entered the Finnish Art Society's drawing school, her fees paid by Adolf von Becker, and formed lifelong friendships with Helena Westermarck and Maria Wiik. Her early history paintings, such as Wounded Warrior in the Snow (1880), were unusual for a woman at the time.

In 1880 a travel grant took her to Paris, where she studied with Léon Bonnat and Gustave Courtois, then painted in Meudon and Pont-Aven in Brittany. In 1887 she went to St Ives in Cornwall, where she painted The Convalescent, which won a bronze medal at the 1889 Paris World's Fair and is now perhaps the most famous painting in Finland.

In the 1890s she taught in Helsinki, then on her doctor's advice moved with her mother to the small town of Hyvinkää, where she lived and worked for about twenty years, painting portraits, still lifes and self-portraits. From 1913 the dealer Gösta Stenman championed her work, and her reputation grew. She spent her last years in Sweden and died at Saltsjöbaden, near Stockholm, on 23 January 1946.

Style and Subjects

Schjerfbeck's early work is a skilled, slightly melancholy academic realism, influenced by French plein-air painting. Over time she simplified more and more, flattening forms and reducing faces to a few essential lines and muted colours.

Her later portraits of girls, women and herself are spare, modern and deeply expressive. Her series of self-portraits, ending in near-abstract images in the 1940s, is one of the great records of an artist's ageing.

Famous Works

• Wounded Warrior in the Snow (1880), Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. A dying soldier in a snowy forest, painted when she was eighteen.
• The Door (1884), Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. Light falling through a chapel door near Pont-Aven.
• The Convalescent (1888), Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. A sick child holding a sprig of new leaves, her most famous painting.
• The Seamstress (The Working Woman) (1905), Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. A calm, monumental portrait from her Hyvinkää years.
• Girl with Blonde Hair (1916), Städel Museum, Frankfurt. A simplified, modern portrait of a young woman.
• The Fencer (1924). A striking figure in white, from her mature style.
• Modern Schoolgirl (1928), Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. A fashionable girl reduced to a few bold shapes.
• Self-Portrait, en face I (1945), Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. One of her last self-portraits, almost abstract.

Decorating with Schjerfbeck Prints

Schjerfbeck's portraits, with their muted greys, soft pinks and greens, suit calm modern and Scandinavian interiors. A single portrait, like Girl with Blonde Hair or Modern Schoolgirl, makes a quiet focal point in a bedroom, study or hallway.

The Convalescent is a gentle choice for a child's room or reading nook, and her small flower still lifes, such as Camellias, bring soft colour to a kitchen or dining room.

FAQ

Who was Helene Schjerfbeck?

Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946) was a Finnish painter whose work moved from academic realism to bold, simplified modernism. She is one of Finland's most celebrated artists.

What is Helene Schjerfbeck's most famous painting?

The Convalescent (1888), painted in St Ives, Cornwall, won a bronze medal at the 1889 Paris World's Fair and has been called the single most famous painting in Finland.

Why are Schjerfbeck's self-portraits famous?

She painted herself throughout her life, and her late self-portraits become ever more stripped back, almost abstract, giving a powerful record of ageing.

Where can I see her paintings?

The Finnish National Gallery (Ateneum) in Helsinki holds the largest collection. Others are in the Turku Art Museum, the Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation and the Städel Museum in Frankfurt.

Related Artists

• Maria Wiik: lifelong friend and fellow Finnish painter
• Albert Edelfelt: leading Finnish painter of her generation
• Edvard Munch: Nordic modernist whose expressive portraits share her intensity
• Amedeo Modigliani: modern painter of simplified, elongated portraits