Sigrid af Forselles (1860—1935) was a Finnish

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'', 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 the fact that it follows ordinary school and is intended to complete a young woman's ...

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

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, 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 u ...

, Alfred Boucher, and others. From there she moved to Florence to continue her studies for another four years.

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

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and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. 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 sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s depicting the history of mankind, titled 'The Development of the Human Soul' (1887—1903), four of which are housed in the Kallio Church of Helsinki, and the fifth at '' Ateneum'', one of the three museums of the Finnish National Gallery. It took 16 years to create, and is considered her ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) 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, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

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

Early life and education

Career

References

Further reading