MODERN WOMEN. Helene Schjerfbeck, Elga Sesemann, Sigrid Schauman, Ellen Thesleff

Author: Utiranen. Anu, Petterson, Dr. Susanna, Ikalainen, Katja
Country: Finland
Language: English/Finnish
Year Published: 2021
No. of pages: 152
Illustrations: 50 Color Illustrations. 12 B&W Illustrations.
Binding: Softbound
Size: 11”x8”
Weight: 2.00
ISBN: 9788774411390
Biblio/Bio: Cat. of exh.
Code: 7221

Price: $75.00

The exhibition Modern Women shows a total of 53 works by the four Finnish artistic colleagues Schjerfbeck, Sesemann,Schauman and Thesleff and their major contribution to the breakthrough of modernism. They depicted their own experiences and the life they lead. Their ideal was the self-sufficient artist, irrespective of gender. And this is how they lived their lives. The four artists’ knowledge, perspective, and skill contributed to highly personal interpretations and influenced modern painting in the time up until and after Finland became independent in 1917. Finnish women were some of the first in Europe to be admitted to their country’s art schools on the same basis as their male counterparts. But society’s traditional family and gender beliefs created barriers for these artists when it came to taking part in creative and cultural life. Even though women’s rights and equality were being discussed at the time, women’s role in the art world was a grey zone – much as it is today.