Sigrid af Forselles (1860—1935) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, notable for being one of the first professional female sculptors of the country.

Early life and education

Sigrid af Forselles was born to an upper-class family of minor nobility; her father was the engineer, inventor, retired Colonel, and Director-General of ''

Metsähallitus Metsähallitus (Finnish) (Forststyrelsen in Swedish, Meahciráđđehus in Sami, ''"the (Finnish) Forest Administration"'') is a state-owned enterprise in Finland. Its two main tasks are Parks & Wildlife Finland to manage most of the protected are ...

'', Alexander af Forselles, and her mother Emilie Sofie Jacquette Waenerberg. Her younger brother was Arthur af Forselles, who later became a physician and politician. She was first educated at a private German-language girls' school in Finland, followed by a year at a

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

in Switzerland, although she did not particularly excel at either. Af Forselles began her art studies at the Drawing School of the Finnish Art Society (''Suomen Taideyhdistyksen piirustuskoulu''), now part of the

Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki The Academy of Fine Arts ( fi, Kuvataideakatemia; sv, Bildkonstakademin) in Helsinki, Finland is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and provides the highest university-level theoretical and practical training in the country in fine arts ...

, from 1876 to 1880. Her main interest already then was sculpture, but it was not formally taught in Finland at the time, so she studied drawing instead. After graduation, she moved into sculpture, training at first privately under the Finnish sculptor , and later, from 1882 to 1886, in Paris with

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

Alfred Boucher Alfred Boucher (23 September 1850 – 1934) was a French sculptor who was a mentor to Camille Claudel and a friend of Auguste Rodin. Biography Born in Bouy-sur-Ovin (Nogent-sur-Seine), he was the son of a farmhand who became the gardener of the s ...

, and others. From there she moved to Florence to continue her studies for another four years. Sigrid af Forselles, by Venny Soldan-Brofeldt

Career

Af Forselles gave her debut exhibition in Finland in 1884, but afterwards exhibited mostly abroad. Finland, in the late 19th century, did not provide enough professional opportunities for a female sculptor, and therefore af Forselles worked for most of her professional life elsewhere, mostly in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. From 1911 onwards she mainly resided in the latter. She had planned an extensive tour of Finland, possibly even to move back to her home country in her later years, but her health deteriorated and she died in Florence without returning to Finland. Although af Forselles' works comprise numerous small and intimate works, what makes her stand out from most other 19th-century women sculptors was her courage and confidence to tackle also large-scale projects. Among her best-known creations is a thematic series of five massive

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s depicting the history of mankind, titled 'The Development of the Human Soul' (1887—1903), four of which are housed in the

Kallio Church sv, Berghälls kyrka , native_name_lang = Kallion kirkko , image = Kallio_church,_Helsinki_2004-06.jpg , caption = Kallio Church. , coordinates = , location = Kallio, Helsinki , country ...

of Helsinki, and the fifth at ''

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 has t ...

'', one of the three museums of the

Finnish National Gallery Finnish National Gallery ( fi, Suomen Kansallisgalleria, sv, Finlands Nationalgalleri) is the largest art museum institution of Finland. It consists of the Ateneum, an art museum; Kiasma, a contemporary art museum; and the Sinebrychoff Art Museu ...

. It took 16 years to create, and is considered her ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

''. Many of her other works also have a religious or spiritual theme.

Early life and education

Career

References

Further reading