Venny Soldan-Brofeldt (1860) is another pupil of the Finnish Schools of Art and of Prof. Becker's Academy, and has studied later in Paris, and in Spain and Italy. Her best work is in the genre style, many of her pictures being very characteristic and true scenes of Finnish peasant life, such as "Meal time in a Peasant's Hut" and "Pietists." Her landscapes, too, are remarkable for a sensitive conception of Nature; especially is this true of her pictures of our coast scenery, with its low granite rocks, washed over by the sea waves. Mrs. Soldan-Brofeldt has illustrated also some books for children, among others a part of a large Scandinavian edition of Topelius' Saga tales for children. At the Paris Exhibition of 1889, she received a "Mention Honorable," and in 1900, a bronze medal. She is the wife of the author, Juhani Aho. Brofeldt. Mrs. Soldan-Brofeldt's work is not illustrated in this book, as a photograph of her most important picture was broken into fragments in its journey from Finland to London.
It is characteristic of all these painters that their artistic bias was determined by their study in Paris of the French naturalists, who inspired them with a stern respect for drawing, and taught them to study Nature seriously. Starting from this common standpoint, they have, whilst working in their own way, developed along their own individual lines.
Many another woman artist deserves mention, but the limited space at my disposal permits me to give only a list of their names.
There is Ellen Thesleff, a figure painter; there is Elin Danielson-Gambogi (wife of the Italian painter, R. Gambogi), well-known for her portraits and landscapes; there is Julia Stigzelius de Cock (wife of the Belgian artist, Césare de Cock), a clever landscape painter; there is Amélie Lundahl, figure painter; and Ada Thilén, with her landscapes; and Hanna Rönnberg, with her subject pictures and outdoor scenes; and Anna Sahlstén, a figure painter; and last, but not least, I name Annie Torselles-Schybergson, a good painter of animals.
[Illustration: SILHOUETTE BY NELLY BODENHEIM.]
[Illustration: RUSSIAN SCHOOL, 1884 "A MEETING." AFTER THE ORIGINAL PAINTING IN THE LUXEMBOURG, PARIS, FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY LEVY & SONS, PARIS Mademoiselle Marie Bashkirtseff, Painter 1860-1884]