Ellen Thesleff

Ellen Thesleff, born on October fifth, eighteen sixty-nine in Helsinki, was a prominent Finnish expressionist painter and graphic artist. As the eldest of five siblings, she was influenced by her father, an amateur painter, which sparked her early interest in art. Thesleff began her formal education in the arts with private lessons before attending the Finnish Art Society Drawing School in eighteen eighty-seven, where she studied under Gunnar Berndtson for two years.

In eighteen ninety-one, Thesleff moved to Paris to further her artistic journey, enrolling in the Académie Colarossi. Her travels took her to Italy for the first time in eighteen ninety-four, and she spent her life between Finland, France, and Italy. Despite her extensive travels, she maintained a family estate in Murole, Ruovesi, Finland, and chose to remain unmarried throughout her life.

Thesleff's career was marked by significant exhibitions, including a notable showcase of Nordic art in Copenhagen in nineteen forty-nine, where her work received widespread acclaim. Initially, she created symbolist paintings reminiscent of Eugène Carrière, although she cited Édouard Manet as her primary influence. Over time, her style evolved towards expressionism and modernism, particularly in her landscape works.

In two thousand eighteen, Thesleff was featured in the exhibit 'Women in Paris 1850-1900,' highlighting her contributions to the art world and her role as one of the leading Finnish modernist painters.