Robert Wilhelm Ekman (August 13, 1808 – February 19, 1873), R. W. Ekman, was a significant teacher and painter of the Finnish romantic portraits and early national romanticism.

Childhood and Arts Education

Robert Ekman was born in

Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki (; , ) is a list of towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region, northwest of Turku and south of Pori. The municipality has a pop ...

, Finland to an upper-class family. His father was , a medical doctor and a mayor, and his mother was Sara Elisabet (maiden name Gadolin). Both of his parents died when he was approximately 10 years old. They left behind five orphans who were placed in foster homes. Their schooling was incomplete and there was no chance of higher academic education. Robert Ekman first studied art under the guidance of Finnish painter Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg (1784–1833), but in 1824 together with his brother Fredric, Joachim begun studies at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

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 ...

and later studied in the studio of Johan Gustaf Sandberg (1782–1854). Already as a student Ekman specialized in portraying the life of the common people, instead of

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

of the

academic art Academic art, academicism, or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. This method extended its influence throughout the Western world over several centuries, from its origins i ...

s. Ekman graduated in 1836, and was granted a generous traveling scholarship for excelling in his studies. This supported him working in the

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and

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between years 1837–1844. As the scholarship was not plausible otherwise, Ekman took Swedish citizenship.

Court Painter and a Teacher

Upon returning to

, Ekman was dubbed as an ''agré'' (member candidate) and was accepted as a member of the academy in 1844. The title included the one of royal court and history painter. In 1845 Ekman returned to

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, where he began decorating the

Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral (, ) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Turku, Arch ...

with wall paintings. The laborious

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

were finished in 1854. Additionally, he completed over 30 church altarpieces during his career including works at

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 ...

(1846–1848),

Sääksmäki Sääksmäki is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Ve ...

(1847), Viitasaari (1849), Sauvon (1853),

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

(1859), Tammela (1860),

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

(1863), Paimio (1865),

Tyrvää Tyrvää (; ) was a municipality in the Satakunta region, Turku and Pori Province, Finland. It was established in 1439 when the Tyrvää parish was separated from the parish of Karkku. In 1915, the market town of Vammala was separated from Tyrvä ...

(1866) and Perelt (1871). Having lived in Finland for ten years, Ekman regained Finnish citizenship in 1855. Having moved to

, Ekman started working on art education with master painter (1800–1862). In 1846 the was founded and led by Ekman until his death. He died at Turku during 1873. Ingeborg Malmström was one of the student of him. Medaillon portrait 2 of 16 Ekman by Ville Vallgren

Medaillon portrait 2 of 16 Ekman by Ville Vallgren

Works

References

Other sources

*Hintze, Bertel (1926) ''Robert Wilhelm Ekman 1808–1873: En konsthistorisk studie'' (Helsingfors: Schildt)

External links