Ellen Thesleff

de Lena Holger

A brilliant painter and early modernist, Finnish artist Ellen Thesleff (1869-1954) was taught to paint in the Realist style and went through a Symbolist phase, before maturing into a bold and fresh interpreter of colours and the potential of dissolved shapes in the early 20th century. She applied the palette of sunny Italy to the deep forests and lakes and landscapes of her Finnish childhood. Ellen Thesleff's painting Echo which she had painted during the summer of 1891, was accepted for the Finnish Artists' Association's exhibition. It was highly successful and was her breakthrough as an artist and brought the acknowledgement that both she and her family needed. Exhibition: Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden (13.02.-10.04.2016).