Ellen Thesleff (Finland, 1869-1954)

 
 Self portrait (1894-1895)

oil on canvas 31.5 x 23.5 cm

Ellen Thesleff (1869–1954) was a Finnish expressionist painter, celebrated as one of the foremost modernist artists in Finland. Born in Helsinki on October 5, 1869, she was the eldest daughter among five siblings, and her father was an amateur painter. Thesleff’s artistic journey took her from Finland to Paris, where she honed her skills at the Finnish Art Society Drawing School (now known as the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts) under the guidance of Gunnar Berndtson. In 1891, she ventured to Paris and enrolled at the Académie Colarossi.

Throughout her life, Thesleff divided her time between Finland, France, and Italy. She visited Italy for the first time in 1894 and maintained a family estate in Murole, Ruovesi. Despite her travels, she never married.

Thesleff’s artistic evolution is fascinating. Initially, she worked on symbolist paintings, influenced by artists like Eugène Carrière. However, she asserted that her greatest inspiration came from Édouard Manet. As her career progressed, she transitioned to expressionism and modernism, with a particular focus on landscapes.

In 1949, her paintings garnered acclaim at a major exhibition of Nordic art in Copenhagen. Her powerful use of lines and dynamic compositions resonated with viewers. Notably, Thesleff was part of the 2018 exhibit titled “Women in Paris 1850-1900”.

To explore more of Ellen Thesleff’s work, you can visit the Ateneum museum or view her self-portraits on Archives of Women Artists

Karl Schmidt-Rotluff

 

Du und Ich (1919)

Karl Schmidt-Rotluff was a German painter and printmaker who was active in the early 20th century. He was born in 1884 in Menster, Germany, and studied art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Schmidt-Rotluff was a member of the Expressionist movement, which sought to express emotional and psychological states through the use of color, form, and line.

Schmidt-Rotluff was known for his landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, which were characterized by their bold, expressive brushwork and bright, vibrant colors. He was also interested in the graphic arts and produced a number of prints and illustrations during his career. Schmidt-Rotluff exhibited his work widely in Germany and internationally, and his work can be found in many public and private collections. He died in 1976 at the age of 92.

a German expressionist: Karl Hofer

 

Drei Jünglinge (1951)

Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or Carl Hofer (11 October 1878, Karlsruhe – 3 April 1955, Berlin) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts.

One of the most prominent painters of expressionism, he never was a member of one of the expressionist painting groups, like "Die Brücke", but was influenced by their painters. His work was among those considered degenerate art by the Nazis, but after World War II he regained recognition as one of the leading German painters.

wiki/Karl_Hofer

Abraham A. Manievich (Ukraine 1881- 1942 USA)

Shtetl, Snow circa 1911

View of Kiev (c. 1910)

oil on canvas 71 x 84 cm

Autumn Landscape
oil on canvas 83 x 92.5 cm

Abraham Manievich was a Ukrainian-born painter and printmaker who is known for his contributions to the Ashcan School of American art. He was born in 1881 in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Manievich studied art at the National Academy of Design in New York City and later became a member of the New York Society of Independent Artists.

Manievich's work was characterized by his use of bold, expressive brushstrokes and a palette of bright, saturated colors. He was particularly interested in depicting the lives of working-class people in urban settings, and his work often featured scenes of daily life in New York City. Manievich was a member of the Ashcan School, a group of artists who were known for their realist style and their focus on urban and social themes.

In addition to his work as a painter, Manievich was also an accomplished printmaker, and he produced a number of lithographs and etchings during his career. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Manievich died in 1942 in New York City.

Danish Expressionism: Oluf Høst

Oluf Høst (1884–1966), a Danish Expressionist painter

Evening, 1930

1931

  

 A night in May, 1935

  

The dying of a winter’s day, 1943

Oluf Høst - Orion and Light Skies 1956

Oluf Høst (1884–1966) was a Danish Expressionist painter, the only member of the Bornholm school who was a native Bornholmer. Although he studied in Copenhagen, he returned to the Danish island of Bornholm in 1929 where he remained with his family for the rest of his life. Bognemark, a little farmhouse near Gudhjem, was one of Høst's favourite motifs. From 1935 on, he painted the farm some 200 times under varying conditions at different times of the year, often reflecting his particular mood at the time. His home in Gudhjem, built from two fishermen's cottages with a rocky garden in the rear, is named "Norresân" after the nearby harbour, Nørresand Havn, where he painted many of his works.

source: wikipedia

Marianne von Werefkin, a Russian expressionist painter

Marianne von Werefkin, a Russian expressionist painter 

(1860 – 1938)

Der Rote Baum, 1910

 Autumn (School) 1907

Town in Lithuania 1913

Die Fabrik, 1910-1911

Police Sentinel in Vilnius, 1914

Ameisenhaufen, circa 1916

Fantastic Night 1917

Marianne von Werefkin (Russian Мариамна/Марианна Владимировна Веревкина) (1860, Tula, Russia – 1938, Ascona, Switzerland), born Marianna Wladimirowna Werewkina was a Russian-Swiss Expressionist painter. 

wikipedia

A Swedish Expressionist: Isaac Grünewald

Isaac Grünewald (Swedish, 1889-1946)

Stockholmsvinter, Slussen (Stockholm) (1933)

oil on canvas 101 x 81 cm

View over Katarinavägen and Stadsgården [Katarinavägen och Stadsgården] (1935)

oil on canvas, 63 x 77 cm, private collection

source: bukowskis.com

Katarinavägen

Sigrid painting (1920)

Oil on canvas, 33 x 40 cm

Still-Life with Flower-Basket

Flower Still-life with Amaryllis and white Tulips

Garden Path

Model in a blue Chair

Isaac Grünewald (2 September 1889 - 22 May 1946) was a Swedish-Jewish expressionist painter born in Stockholm. He was the leading and central name in the first generation of Swedish modernists from 1910 up until his death in 1946, in other words during almost his entire career spanning four decades. He was a highly productive painter as well as a writer and public speaker.

source: wikipedia

Montparnasse: Soutine, Kikoine and Modigliani

Chaïm Soutine

Man with Red Scarf, circa 1921

Height 100 cm (39.37 in.), Width 70 cm (27.56 in.), oil on canvas

Tree of Vence, about 1929

Tree in the Wind, circa 1939

Chartres Cathedral

Chaïm Soutine (January 13, 1893 – August 9, 1943) was a French painter of Belarusian Jewish origin. Soutine made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the works of Rembrandt,Chardin and Courbet, Soutine developed an individual style more concerned with shape, color, and texture over representation, which served as a bridge between more traditional approaches and the developing form of Abstract Expressionism.

For a time, he and his friends lived at La Ruche, a residence for struggling artists in Montparnasse where he became friends with Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920). Modigliani painted Soutine's portrait several times

Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, 1916, Private Collection

Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of Chaim Soutine, 1915

Michel Kikoine (Russian 1892 - 1968)

Michel Kikoine, Pommiers

Michel Kikoïne, Eglise sur colline

Kikoine was born in Rechytsa, present-day Belarus. The son of a Jewish banker in the small southeastern town of Gomel, he was barely into his teens when he began studying at "Kruger's School of Drawing" in Minsk. There he met Chaim Soutine, with whom he would have a lifelong friendship. At age 16 he and Soutine were studying at the Vilnius Academy of Art and in 1911 he moved to join the growing artistic community gathering in the MontparnasseQuarter of Paris, France. This artistic community included his friend Soutine as well as fellow Belarus painter, Pinchus Kremegne who also had studied at the Fine Arts School in Vilnia.

more on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Kikoine

a Russian artist: Marc Chagall

Marc Zaharovich Chagall (1887 – 1985)

A Wheatfield on a Summer’s Day, 1942

Le Pont de Passy et la Tour Eiffel

Ida with a hat

The old jew (1912), expressionism

Snow-covered Church (1927)

Fleurs près de la fenêtre

Marc Zaharovich Chagall (6 July [O.S. 24 June] 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a Russian artist associated with several major artistic styles and one of the most successful artists of the 20th century. He was an early modernist, and created works in virtually every artistic medium, including painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic, tapestries and fine art prints.

Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century". According to art historian Michael J. Lewis, Chagall was considered to be "the last survivor of the first generation of European modernists". For decades, he "had also been respected as the world's preeminent Jewish artist". Using the medium of stained glass, he produced windows for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, windows for the UN, and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. He also did large-scale paintings, including part of the ceiling of the Paris Opéra.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

German Expressionism: Alexej von Jawlensky

Alexej Georgewitsch von Jawlensky (Russian, 1864 – 1941)

Sunset, 1904

Garden Path in Carantec, circa 1905



Station at Füssen in March, 1905

Cornfield, 1905



Landscape with Small Wood, 1905

Landschaft aus Caranteque (1905-06)

Wasserburg am Inn (circa 1906)

Landscape with Red Roof - Wasserburg, circa 1906



Green Trees, 1906

 Um (1906)



Wasserburg, 1906



Village in Bavaria, 1907



Mediterranean Coast, 1907

Yellow Sound, 1908

Murnau Village, 1908

Summer Evening in Murnau, ca 1908

Murnau in High Summer, 1908

The Yellow House, 1909

Schokko with a Red Hat (1909)

Stillleben mit Blumen und Orangen, c. 1909

Big Clouds, Big Trees (1909)

Murnau - Landscape, Orange Cloud (1909)

Blue Mountain (1910)

Murnau, 1910

Wasserburger Landschaft

Factory at Oberau, 1910

Floating Cloud

The Factory, 1910

Girl with the Green Face, 1910

Landscape (1914)

Mystischer Kopf: Frauenkopf auf blauem Grund (1917)

Mystischer Kopf: Frauenkopf auf rotem Grund (1917)

 The Young Christ, 1919

Oil on canvas, LA County Museum

Head of a Woman “Medusa” (1923)

Self-Portrait, 1930, oil on board, 51.5 x 50.2 cm

Alexej Georgewitsch von Jawlensky (1864 – 1941) was a Russian expressionist painter active in Germany. He was a key member of the New Munich Artist's Association (Neue Künstlervereinigung München), Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) group and later the Die Blaue Vier (The Blue Four).

Paintings by von Jawlensky are displayed in galleries and museums around the world. The Museum Ostwall in Dortmund, Germany, maintains a collection of exceptional depth.The largest collection of works by von Jawlensky is kept at the Museum Wiesbaden, which owns more than 90 works of the artist, and forms the most important collection of his work in Europe

more on wiki/Alexej_von_Jawlensky