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Musée No:413.022
Regular price £25.00Portrait of Ellen Edelfelt (nee de la Chapelle).
Artist: Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt
Date: 1896
Edelfelt was one of the first Finnish artists to achieve international fame. He is known for his naturalistic and realist style of art with an eclectic wealth of subjects. He enjoyed considerable success in Paris, including a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889. He focused on history painting in the beginning of his career.He also painted portraits of many famous people, including his friend Louis Pasteur, Aino Ackté, and the Russian imperial family. The painting of Louis Pasteur won him the Legion of Honour in 1886 at the exhibition at the Paris Salon. In Finland, he was one of the founders of the Realist art movement. He influenced several younger Finnish painters in Antwerp and Paris, where he learned the practice of En Plein Air. He liked "En Plein Air" because documenting contemporary reality rather than historical scenes was popular at the time period. He focused on naturalism and his paintings showed off the Finnish countryside and lifestyle.
Sitter : He married Ellen de la Chapelle in 1888. They had known each other since childhood. The marriage started auspiciously, with much affection on both sides. Ellen gave birth to their (only) child Erik (1888-1910) at the end of the year, after a difficult labour. Subsequently, the marriage was not a happy one, as Albert, despite being a kindly sort, was frequently having affairs with his models.
If you love this portrait make sure you add 'Edelfelt' to the search bar - there are so many beautiful paintings by him.