Berndt Abraham Godenhjelm (March 30, 1799 - 14 December 1881) was a Finnish

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Personal life

Godenhjelm was born in

Mäntyharju Mäntyharju (, ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region, about southwest of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is w ...

. His parents were the county surveyor Adolf Fredrik Godenhjelm and Maria Elizabeth Argillander. His wife was Alexandra Fredrika Hornborg (died 1871). Their son B. F. Godenhjelm became a teacher.

Early career

He studied landscape painting in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

under , and later he studied copper drawing in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He initially began his career in the courts, where he worked as an articled clerks deputy judge in 1826. However soon after he transitioned to painting, primarily producing commissioned works for churches and portraits.

Works and memberships

During his career, he painted dozens of

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s including ones for the Mäntyharju church, the Lovage church, the

Liperi Liperi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . T ...

church (1842), the

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second most populous town of the Central Finland after ...

church (1848), the

Ikaalinen Ikaalinen (; ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, located northwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipalities ...

church (1874) and Finnish Lutheran Church in

Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...

founded by

Uno Cygnaeus Uno Cygnaeus (12 October 1810 in Hämeenlinna – 2 January 1888 in Helsinki) was a Finnish people, Finnish clergyman, educator, and chief inspector of the country's school system. He is considered the father of the Finnish public school system. ...

in 1840. Some of his works have been preserved at the and the

National Museum of Finland The National Museum of Finland (, ) is a museum in Helsinki presenting Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The Finnish National Romantic style building is located at Mannerheimintie 34 in ...

. Godenhjelm was head teacher at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki The Academy of Fine Arts (; ) 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. Academy The Academy was founded in 184 ...

drawing school from 1848 to 1869. He was an honorary member of the in 1864, and a board member of the

Finnish Art Society The Academy of Fine Arts (; ) 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. Academy The Academy was founded in 184 ...

from 1852 to 1868.

Works

References

* Ilmari Heikinheimo: Finland elämäkerrasto. Helsinki: Werner Söderström Corporation, 1955. Page 232 1799 births 1881 deaths People from Mäntyharju Swedish-speaking Finns Painters from the Russian Empire 18th-century Finnish painters 18th-century male artists Finnish male painters {{Finland-painter-stub

Personal life

Early career

Works and memberships

Works

See also

References