Robert Wilhelm Ekman (August 13, 1808 – February 19, 1873), R. W. Ekman, was a significant teacher and painter of the Finnish romantic portraits and early national romanticism.

Childhood and Arts Education

Robert Ekman was born in

Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki (; sv, Nystad, ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, northwest of Turku and south of Pori. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is inland wate ...

, Finland to an upper-class family. His father was , a medical doctor and a mayor, and his mother was Sara Elisabet (maiden name Gadolin). Both of his parents died when he was approximately 10 years old. They left behind five orphans who were placed in foster homes. Their schooling was incomplete and there was no chance of higher academic education. Robert Ekman first studied art under the guidance of Finnish painter

Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg (21 November 1784 – 28 June 1833) was a Finnish painter. Biography Finnberg was born in Pargas to sailor Johan Finnberg and Sophia Stenroos. In 1800 he left for Turku to apprentice as a painter there, and in 1805 he gra ...

(1784–1833), but in 1824 together with his brother Fredric, Joachim begun studies at the

Royal Swedish Academy of 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 ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and later studied in the studio of

Johan Gustaf Sandberg Johan Gustaf Sandberg (13 May 1782 – 26 June 1854) was a Swedish painter. He was foremost a history painter and used settings from Norse mythology and Swedish history. His most widely known work in this area are his frescoes in Uppsala Cathedr ...

(1782–1854). Already as a student Ekman specialized in portraying the life of the common people, instead of

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

of the

academic art Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...

s. Ekman graduated in 1836, and was granted a generous traveling scholarship for excelling in his studies. This supported him working in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

between years 1837–1844. As the scholarship was not plausible otherwise, Ekman took Swedish citizenship.

Court Painter and a Teacher

Upon returning to

, Ekman was dubbed as an ''agré'' (member candidate) and was accepted as a member of the academy in 1844. The title included the one of royal court and history painter. In 1845 Ekman returned to

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, where he began decorating the

Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral ( fi, Turun tuomiokirkko, sv, Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat ...

with wall paintings. The laborious

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

were finished in 1854. Additionally, he completed over 30 church altarpieces during his career including works at

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

(1846–1848),

Sääksmäki Sääksmäki is a village and a former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Veikko Aaltonen, eminent Finn ...

(1847),

Viitasaari Viitasaari is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

(1849), Sauvon (1853),

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

(1859), Tammela (1860),

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

(1861),

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

(1863),

Paimio Paimio (; sv, Pemar) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...

(1865),

Tyrvää Tyrvää (; sv, Tyrvis) was a municipality in the Satakunta region, Turku and Pori Province, Finland. It was established in 1439 when the Tyrvää parish was separated from the parish of Karkku. In 1915, the market town of Vammala was separated fr ...

(1866) and Perelt (1871). Tyrvään kirkon alttari

Photograph of Robert Wilhelm Ekman painting

Having lived in Finland for ten years, Ekman regained Finnish citizenship in 1855. Having moved to

, Ekman started working on art education with master painter (1800–1862). In 1846 the was founded and led by Ekman until his death. He died at Turku during 1873. Medaillon portrait 2 of 16 Ekman by Ville Vallgren

Medaillon portrait 2 of 16 Ekman by Ville Vallgren

Works

References

Other sources

*Hintze, Bertel (1926) ''Robert Wilhelm Ekman 1808–1873: En konsthistorisk studie'' (Helsingfors: Schildt) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekman, Robert Wilhelm 1808 births 1873 deaths People from Uusikaupunki Romantic painters History painters Fresco painters 19th-century Finnish painters Finnish male painters Finnish emigrants to Sweden Naturalized citizens of Finland Naturalized citizens of Sweden Swedish expatriates in Finland Swedish expatriates in France Swedish expatriates in Italy Swedish expatriates in the Netherlands Swedish people of Finnish descent 19th-century Finnish male artists

Childhood and Arts Education

Court Painter and a Teacher

Works

See also

References

Other sources