Helene Schjerfbeck 23.1.2012

Helene Schjerfbeck had a long and productive career. Her early work already had a significant impact on Finnish art, though her contemporaries did not always understand her artistic experiments. Today she is regarded as one of the great names in Finnish art. Helene Schjerfbeck's career as an artist underwent many radical artistic transitions - from French-influenced realism to pared-down portraits and still life’s that plumb the hidden depths of phenomena. Helene Schjerfbeck's artistic career was exceptional in many senses. She began her studies at the age of eleven and while still very young acquired considerable technical skill, which soon matured into an original artistic style. Although a hip defect restricted her life, she painted continuously and produced an extensive oeuvre; as well as oil paintings, this included watercolours, drawings, lithographs and textile designs. Helene Schjerfbeck's career underwent many radical artistic transitions - from French-influenced realism to pared-down portraits and still life’s that plumb the hidden depths of phenomena. Although today Schjerfbeck is one of Finland's most respected painters, her contemporaries were critical of her; she only began to win admirers after a solo exhibition organised by Gösta Stenman in 1917.
The year 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of artist Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946). In honour of the anniversary, a booklet of four self-adhesive stamps designed by Teresa Moorhouse depicting her works was released. The theme of the cover and one stamp is Self-Portrait, Black Background, an artwork based on Schjerfbeck’s famous self-portraits from 1915. The School Girl II from 1908 represents the artist’s modernist style where an impact is highlighted through simplified details. Green Apples and Champagne Glass from 1934 represents Schjerfbeck’s accurate control of composition and colour harmony. The lithograph Silk Shoes from 1938 typifies a central theme of the artist’s decades-long career – dancing shoes. The background of the stamps depicts a staircase at the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki where an exhibition of Schjerfbeck’s work will be organized from June 1 to October 14, 2012. This nice cover was also given to me by Ella.