Fanny Churberg (12 December 1845 – 10 May 1892) was a Finnish landscape painter.

Biography

Churberg was born on 12 December 1845, in

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),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 ...

parish, Nils Johan Perander. Fanny was the third of seven children. Four of her siblings died when they were young and so Fanny grew up with her two older brothers Torsten and . Fanny was proud of her Ostrobothnian family and heritage and was planning along with her brothers on changing the surname to Kuurila according to the family's old estate. They never got around to it though. When Fanny was twelve her mother died and she had to take on large parts of the responsibility of being the matron of the house. Later on she got sent to a girls' school in

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

, but she returned to Vaasa when she was 17–18 years old. When she was 20 her father died. Fanny cared for him day and night during the last months of his life. After her father's death she and her brothers moved to Helsinki, where they lived with their aunt. Portrait photograph of Fanny Churberg

She started her artistic training in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 1865 with private lessons from Alexandra Frosterus-Såltin, and Berndt Lindholm. Her studies continued in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, but she always returned to Finland to paint during the summer. She was also one of the first Finnish painters to study in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Although Churberg remained to a large extent within the conventions of the

Düsseldorf school of painting Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, she openly expressed her enthusiasm for the countryside and its dramatic situations, relying above all on colour and a fast brush technique to do so. The charged quality of her work differed sharply from that of her contemporaries, as did her subjects, for example the tense atmosphere before a thunderstorm in the open country or the deep, swampy heart of the forest. Churberg founded the Friends of Finnish Handicrafts in 1879. She urged Finnish women to join the Friends' effort to revive textile practice in Finland. Fanny Churberg's career ended suddenly in 1880. Her health was weaker and she took care of her brother Torsten who was suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Torsten's death in 1882 made her quite lonely and her will to live lessened as did her energy. The other brother Waldemar, to whom she used to be very close, had married in 1877. The reason for ending her career might also have been the harsh criticism she had met before, but she never withdrew completely from the art circles. She did not however paint anymore after 1880, not even for her own amusement, but during her career she had still managed to produce over 300 paintings. Churberg died on 10 May 1892, in Helsinki.

Legacy

Churberg was included in the 2018 exhibit ''Women in Paris 1850-1900''. In 2024, she was also included in the exhibition ''Against All Odds'' at the

National Gallery of Denmark National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Works

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churberg, Fanny 1845 births 1892 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Artists from the Grand Duchy of Finland People from Vaasa People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Düsseldorf school of painting Finnish women painters 19th-century Finnish women artists 19th-century Finnish painters 19th-century women painters

Biography

Legacy

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links