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 ...

, 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 Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke), ...

; her father was the engineer, inventor, retired Colonel, and Director-General of ''

Metsähallitus Metsähallitus (Finnish language, Finnish) (Forststyrelsen in Swedish language, Swedish, Meahciráđđehus in Sámi languages, Sami, ''"the (Finnish) Forest Administration"'') is a state-owned enterprise in Finland. Its two main tasks are Parks & ...

'', Alexander af Forselles, and her mother Emilie Sofie Jacquette Waenerberg. Her younger brother was

Arthur af Forselles Arthur Edvard af Forselles (11 February 1864, Lammi – 27 July 1953, Kannus) was a Finnish physician and politician. He was a member of the Diet of Finland in 1897, 1899 and from 1905 to 1906 and of the Parliament of Finland from 1919 to 192 ...

, 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 that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wi ...

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district ...

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, Alfred Boucher, and others. From there she moved to Florence to continue her studies for another four years. Sigrid af Forselles, by Venny Soldan-Brofeldt

Sigrid af Forselles, by Venny Soldan-Brofeldt

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

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. 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 sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

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 Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has ...

'', one of the three museums of the

Finnish National Gallery Finnish National Gallery ( fi, Suomen Kansallisgalleria, sv, Finlands Nationalgalleri) is the largest art museum institution of Finland. It consists of the Ateneum, an art museum; Kiasma, a contemporary art museum; and the Sinebrychoff Art Mu ...

. It took 16 years to create, and is considered her ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use 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, ...

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

Early life and education

Career

References

Further reading