Magnus Hjalmar Munsterhjelm (19 October 1840 – 2 April 1905) was a Finnish landscape painter.
Biography
Munsterhjelm was born at Toivoniemi Manor of
Tuulos
Tuulos ( sv, Tuulos, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on January 1, 2009. The administrative center of Tuulos was Syrjäntaka.
Neighbouring municipalities were Hauho, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala a ...
, Finland. He was the son of Gustaf Riggert Munsterhjelm (1806-1872) and his wife and Mathilda Charlotta Eleonora von Essen (1818-1895). His father first sent him to the Turku Maritime School. In the early 1860s, he studied art at
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
with
Werner Holmberg (1830-1860) and
Oswald Achenbach
Oswald Achenbach (; 2 February 18271 February 1905) was a German painter associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Though little known today, during his lifetime he was counted among the most important landscape painters of Europe. Thr ...
(1827-1905) and at
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
under
Hans Gude
Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Roma ...
.
![Olav Rusti - Portrait of Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - A II 1666 - Finnish National Gallery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Olav_Rusti_-_Portrait_of_Hjalmar_Munsterhjelm_-_A_II_1666_-_Finnish_National_Gallery.jpg)
His painted landscapes were influenced by the
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
of the
Düsseldorf school
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, often featuring nature as a mood rather than a realistic subject.
His landscape "October Evening After the First Snowfall" (1883) was purchased by
Alexander III in 1885; the painting is now in the
Ateneum
Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It ha ...
in Helsinki.
Two of his works, "The Evening, in Finland" and "The Night" were displayed at the
1878 Paris Exposition. His work "Evening of the First Spring" was also on display at the
1900 Paris Exposition
The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...
.
![John Munsterhjelm - Commemorative medal of Hjalmar Munsterhjelm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/John_Munsterhjelm_-_Commemorative_medal_of_Hjalmar_Munsterhjelm.jpg)
He married Olga Mathilda Tanninen (1856–1929) in 1875. They had four children, one of whom was the sculptor
John Munsterhjelm (1879–1925). Munsterhjelm became a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...
in 1897.
He kept being highly productive all the way until his death in 1905 in Helsinki.
In current times his moonlight paintings are some his most famous and popular.
Works
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Shepherd in the Alps.jpg, ''Shepherd in the Alps'', 1860
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Road in Finland.jpg, ''Road in Finland'', 1865
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Peasant Woman from Bayern.jpg, ''Peasant Woman from Bayern
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
'', 1860s
Munsterhjelm, Birches in Summer.jpg, ''Birches in Summer'', 1869
Munsterhjelm, Kyläkatu Schwartzwaldissa.jpg, ''Village Street in Schwartzwald'', 1870
Munsterhjelm, Maisema Hohen Aschausta.jpg, ''Landscape from Hohenaschau'', 1871
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Häme Castle.jpg, ''Häme Castle
Tavastia Castle or Häme Castle ( fi, Hämeen linna, sv, Tavastehus slott) is a medieval castle in Tavastia Proper, Finland. It is located in Hämeenlinna, the city between Helsinki and Tampere. Originally located on an island, the castle now sit ...
'', 1872
Munsterhjelm, Talvimaisema Tuuloksesta.jpg, ''Winter Landscape from Tuulos
Tuulos ( sv, Tuulos, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on January 1, 2009. The administrative center of Tuulos was Syrjäntaka.
Neighbouring municipalities were Hauho, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala a ...
'', 1874
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Woodland in Hauho, Häme.jpg, ''Woodland in Hauho
Hauho is a former municipality of Finland. It was situated in the province of Southern Finland and is today a part of the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland).
Hauho was amalgamated with the municipality of Hämeenlinna ...
, Häme
Häme (; Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'') is the name of a geographical region in Finland, associated with the Tavastians, or Häme people (''hämäläiset''), a subgroup of the Finnish people. The precise area referred to can vary ...
''
Hjalmas Munsterhjelm - Olavinlinna (Winter).jpg, ''Olavinlinna
Olavinlinna (also known as St. Olaf's Castle; sv, Olofsborg; german: Olafsburg; literally ''Olof's Castle'') is a 15th-century three-tower castle located in Savonlinna, Finland. It is built on an island in the Kyrönsalmi strait that connects the ...
(Winter)'', 1870s
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Moonlight in Bärosund.jpg, ''Moonlight in Barösund'', late 1870s
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Moonlit Night.jpg, ''Moonlit Night'', 1883
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - October Evening After the First Snowfall.jpg, ''October Evening After the First Snowfall'', 1883
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Morning Mood (Island View) - A II 845 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, ''Morning Atmosphere (Island View)'', 1884
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Moonlight (1885).jpg, ''Moonlight'', 1885
Hjalmar Munsterhjelm - Crack Willows - A I 618 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, ''Crack Willows'', 1897
See also
*
Finnish art
Finnish art started to form its individual characteristics in the 19th century, when romantic nationalism began to rise in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
Prehistoric art
Marks of human activity in Finland has found in Susiluola, Krist ...
References
Literary sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munsterhjelm, Hjalmar
Finnish painters
1840 births
1905 deaths
Swedish-speaking Finns