The interpretation of feminine images in the works of Ellen Tesslaff
Finnish artist Ellen Thesleff worked in the late of XIXth century - the first half of the XXth century. Female figures which are presented in various genres (portraits, self-portraits, genre and mythological painting) are one of the most significant her works’ subjects. The artist also masters various techniques: oil on canvas, woodcuts, graphics, but always returns to oil as the main technique of her work. One can notice her stylish evolution: from early works which are distinguished by lyricism and symbolic overtones to more expressionistic strand of colourism and at last objective, realistic rendering of appearance in her later works. Female images of Ellen Thesleff are distinguished by a delicate display of sensuality, the absence of idealization and eroticization of physicality and nudity. The ideas of symbolism had a great influence on the artist, and using them, Ellen Thesleff presents female images as an integral part of cosmic harmony. To research: «Echo» 1891 (oil, canvas); portrait «Thyra Elisabeth» 1892 (oil on canvas); «Violinist» 1896 (oil, canvas); self-portrait 1895 (pencil); La Rossa 1915 (colour woodcuts, oil with tempera, canvas); «Girls in the Meadow» 1906 (oil, canvas); «Reaper» 1922 (woodcut); self-portrait 1916 (oil on canvas), self-portrait in a hat 1935 (oil on canvas).