Albert Edelfelt - 101 paintings [HD]

Albert Edelfelt was a Finnish painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visible abroad, before Finland gained full independence. He began his formal studies of art in 1869 at the Drawing School of the Finnish Art Society in Helsinki and continued as a student of Adolf von Becker (1871–73). He then received a scholarship from the Finnish government to study history painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. He studied under Nicaise de Keyser, and won an award for excellence for his painting of Alexander the Great on his deathbed. He also began a long-lasting friendship with the Belgian artist Émile Claus.

In the autumn of 1894, at the age of nineteen, Edelfelt moved to Paris and enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He shared a small studio with a Finnish friend at 24 Rue Bonaparte. Under the instruction of the French painter Jean-Léon Gerome he continued to focus on history painting, particularly scenes of the long series of wars involving the Russians, Swedes and Finns.

After a year in Paris he returned to Helsinki, but came back to Paris in 1876, taking a studio at 81 boulevard du Montparnasse. He became friends with the painter Jules Bastien-Lepage, who introduced him the techniques of painting in open air. His major work of this time was "Duke Charles IX of Sweden insulting the corpse of his enemy Klaus Fleming" (1878). This work which blended the formal academic style with elements of careful realism, such as the dust on the boots. This painting did not cause a stir in Paris, but it enjoyed a great success in Finland; it was purchased by the Finish Society of Fine Arts.

In 1879 he had his first success at the Paris Salon, with a history painting entitled "The Burnt Village - a scene from the Finnish peasant revolt of 1596". The French critics praised the realism of the figures, but Edelfelt noticed the incongruity between the historical figures and the realistic outdoor setting. He wrote, "The problem right with historic subjects is that one cannot render the aspect of reality as in scenes that you have seen yourself." With that judgement, he almost entirely abandoned history painting and concentrated on painting in the open air. He went back to Finland for a time, then returned to Paris in 1881 and rented a new studio at 147 avenue des Villiers.

In the early 1880s, Edelfelt began to adapt some of the characteristics of the new Impressionist movement; natural settings, particularly parks and gardens and the seashore; intimate domestic settings; the play of light on the figures; and rapid execution, to capture the sensation of the moment. At the same time he never became entirely an impressionist, following his realist training to concentrate on precise details and using a broad and complex palate of colors.

In Finland, he was one of the founders of the Realist art movement. He influenced several younger Finnish painters and helped fellow Finnish artists such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Gunnar Berndtson to make their breakthrough in Paris. Among his students was Léon Bakst. Edelfelt was one of the first Finnish artists to achieve international fame. Albert Edelfelt is considered one of the most notable artists of the Golden Age of Finnish Art. A museum under his name operates in Porvoo.