Carl Johan Bengts (2 April 1876 – 10 October 1934) was a Finnish-Swedish painter in the

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

style who specialized in rural themes.

Biography

He was born in

Närpes Närpes (; fi, Närpiö ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia (region), Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. T ...

, and came from a family of farmers; his father was an innkeeper.Brief biography
@ the Tampereen Taidemuseo. His first art lessons were taken in Helsinki from a decorative artist named Karl Hellsten. From 1895 to 1896 he continued his studies at the "Finnish Art Society Drawing School" (now the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

), then attended a similar school in

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''; ...

from 1897 to 1898 where he also took private lessons from

Victor Westerholm Victor Axel Westerholm (4 January 1860 Turku – 19 November 1919 Turku) was a Finland, Finnish landscape painter, especially known for founding the Önningeby artists' colony. Biography Victor Axel Westerholm was born in Turku in 1860. He was t ...

. He became a student assistant to Akseli Gallen-Kallela after 1899 and helped him to produce frescoes for the Finnish pavilion at the Exposition Universelle (1900). In addition to his paintings and drawings, he designed furniture, rugs, book covers and small buildings. Among the buildings he designed are a cabin and wooden storehouse in

Lempäälä Lempäälä (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland with inhabitants (). Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Th ...

(1900); the "Villa Helkavuori" in

Kauniainen Kauniainen (; sv, Grankulla) is a small town and a municipality of inhabitants () in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. It is surrounded and enclaved by the City of Espoo, in the Capital Region of Greater Helsinki. Kauniainen was founde ...

(1907, designed together with the sculptor, ) and a residence for the ski manufacturer Julius Uusitupa (1878-1950) on Salmi Beach, near Jyväskylä (1929). Despite being of Swedish ancestry, he was a great admirer and promoter of Finnish folk-culture. He was also associated with "Septem", a group of artists who introduced French

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

to Finland.Biographical notes
@ Kansallisbiografia. After 1900, he became an activist against the administration of Governor-General

Nikolay Bobrikov Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Бо́бриков; in St. Petersburg – June 17, 1904 in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland) was a Russian general and politician. He was the Governor-General of Finla ...

, a time known as the "Ensimmäinen sortokausi" (First Period of Oppression). During this time, he helped thwart Russian censorship by helping to smuggle in banned literature from Sweden. Later, he acquired an estate in Ekenäs, which he planned to cultivate with his brother , who was also a painter, but they had to give up the property at the outbreak of World War I. In 1914, he and his wife went to Jyväskylä, where he painted cityscapes and interiors. After the war (from 1918 to 1927), they lived in

Kristinestad Kristinestad (, Sweden ; fi, Kristiinankaupunki ; la, Christinea) is a town and a municipality in Finland. It is located in the western part of Finland on the shore of the Bothnian Sea. The population of Kristinestad is () and the municipality ...

, then returned to Jyväskylä, where he died in 1934.

Selected paintings

Bengts-Reading.jpg, A Family Reading Carl Bengts Rössin kuja.jpg, "Rossini's Alley" Bengts-Street.jpg, A Street at Night Bengts-Oscar.jpg, Oscar Leaning on a Shovel

References

External links/sources

Photograph of Carl Bengts (1934)
by Päijänne Studios (probably still copyrighted) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bengts, Carl 1876 births 1934 deaths People from Närpes People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 19th-century Finnish painters 19th-century Finnish male artists 20th-century Finnish painters 20th-century Finnish male artists Landscape painters Genre painters Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish people of Swedish descent Finnish male painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links/sources