Well, it’s been a long time coming but the work of Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck can finally be seen in the UK at the Royal Academy in London.
I was struck by the stillness and spareness of her paintings. The portrait below from 1907 is, in fact, called Silence.
Self portraits form an entire room in the show with a striking, sometimes shocking trajectory. The early one here is fairly conventional.
One of her techniques of painting, scraping back then painting again can be seen in this unfinished self-portrait.
The later ones, painted during World War II when she was in her 80’s echo the despair and horror of that time.
She fortunately achieved success in her lifetime and had the opportunity to travel and see what else was happening in the art world while developing her distinctive style.
Just look at the curve of that forearm below
and the delicacy of this still-life.
Another thing I appreciated in this show: the sobriety of framing which really enhanced the art.