Mathilda Kristina (Kerstin) Cardon (1843–1924) was a Swedish painter and art teacher. One of the first 18 women to be admitted to the women's section 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 ...

, she went on to produce portraits and still lifes in oils and pastels. In 1875, she began teaching at the Women's Teacher Training Seminary (

Högre lärarinneseminariet The Royal Seminary, fully the Royal Advanced Female Teachers' Seminary ( sv, Kungliga Högre Lärarinneseminariet, abbreviated KHLS), was a normal school (teachers' college) in Stockholm, Sweden. It was active from 1861 until 1943. It was the fi ...

) and opened her own painting school in central Stockholm. A popular high-society portrait painter, she produced three portraits of King

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

Biography

Born in Stockholm on 17 August 1843, Mathilda Kristina Cardon was the daughter of the lithographic artist Johan Elias Cardon (1802–1878) and his wife Britta Kristina née Sundberg (1812–1894). She was the younger of two daughters. After initially being trained by her father, in 1864 she was one of the first 18 women to be accepted by the new women's section of the Royal Academy where she studied until 1871. She first painted

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s and

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

s, submitting a somewhat humorous work, ('Lurking Cat'), to Stockholm's Art Association in 1868. On completing her studies, she took study trips to Paris, Munich, London, Vienna, Italy and the Netherlands, in particular to perfect her portrait painting. In 1875, after teaching at various schools in Stockholm, she was engaged by the Teachers' Training College as a drawing instructor until 1884. In parallel, she opened a painting school in her studio on

Drottninggatan Drottninggatan (''Queen Street'') in Stockholm, Sweden, is a major pedestrian street. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden. Composition Formi ...

in the centre of Stockholm where she remained until 1911. Through her many students, she was able to make a significant contribution to art in Sweden. In 1890, she became a member of the Swedish Artists' Federation ( Svenska Konstnärsförbundet) and was appointed a commissioner for the Swedish female artists' section of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. From 1907, she was a member of the

Friends of Handicraft The Friends of Handicraft ( sv, Handarbetets vänner) is a Swedish association for the education, development, production and experimentation of advanced textiles and design. History The association was founded in 1874 by Sophie Adlersparre. From ...

's art committee. In addition to her three portraits of King Oscar II, she painted many prominent Swedes, including the explorer

Sven Hedin Sven Anders Hedin, KNO1kl RVO,Wennerholm, Eric (1978) ''Sven Hedin – En biografi'', Bonniers, Stockholm (19 February 1865 – 26 November 1952) was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer and illustrator ...

, the painter

Gustaf Rydberg Gustaf Fredrik Rydberg (13 September 1835 – 11 October 1933) was a Swedish landscape painter. Biography Gustaf Fredrik Rydberg was born at Malmö, Sweden. His father, Gustaf Isak Rydberg, was the local postmaster. From 1852 to 1855, he was ...

and many counts and barons. Her works are in the collection of the

Malmö Art Museum Founded in , the Malmö Art Museum is one of the leading art museums in Scandinavia. The museum building, built in , is located in the Malmö Castle complex in Malmö, Scania, in southern Sweden. The museum is governed by the City of Malmö. ...

and the engravings section of the

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...

in Stockholm. Kerstin Cardon died in Stockholm on 5 January 1924.

Biography

References

Further reading