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Ellen Thesleff was born in Helsinki (Finland) in 1869. She was a Finnish expressionist painter and one of the most important Finnish modernist painters. She was also a poet.
Ellen had four brothers. Her father was an amateur painter and the whole family plays music.
She studied at the Finnish Academy of fine Arts with Gunnar Berndtson for two years. In 1891 she went to Paris, where she studied at the “Academie Colarossi”: Botticelli and Leonardo were her idols. In 1894 she travelled to Italy and she learned to make wood engravings.
At the beginning of her career she worked on symbolist paintings. Later, she moved to expressionism and modernism, specially the landscapes. Her gray and opaque visions of individuals and landscapes were the first to attract attention.
She travelled a lot and exhibited her works in many countries, including Sweden, Russia, Italy and Norway. In Finland, she participated in many exhibitions in the twentieth century.
She was a brilliant artist and an innovator in modern painting. She never married.
Her art was recognized when she was still alive. However her poetic work was considered of little importance.
She died of injuries caused her by a street car accident in 1954.
Pilar Bernad
English for Fun 4A
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