CHRISTINE SUNDBERG

(Swedish, 1837-1892)

YOUNG Parisienne

Oil on Canvas

18¼ x 15 Inches

Signed Center Left, "Christine Sundberg" and Dated 1888

Displayed in a Period, Golden Maple Frame

Framed Dimensions: 25½ x 1 x 22¼ Inches

 

Born to a wealthy and cultured Swedish family, Christine Sundberg first studied painting at Elise Brandt's Drawing and Painting Institute for Young Women in Stockholm. In 1864, the Royal Academy of Arts opened their department to female students and Sundberg was one of the nineteen women who were admitted to study that inaugural year. During her time at the Academy, Sundberg received medals and prizes for her work on several occasions. With her colleague and close friend, Helena Millde, Sundberg elected to move to Dusseldorf in 1867 to study with Ferdinand Fagerlin. The following year, she moved to Paris where she studied with Thomas Couture and Gustave Courtois, both rigorous teachers of anatomy, and, subsequently, at the Académie Colarossi, then the center of classical figure drawing in Paris.

 

After completing her studies, Sundberg decided to settle in France and, except for occasional visits to Sweden, she continued to live and work there until her death.

 

Christine Sundberg exhibited widely and with success, including her participation in the Academy of Fine Arts Exhibition in 1873 and the Jeu-de-Paume Museum Exhibition of 1874. She also exhibited frequently at the Parisian Salons; her entries including, 'Still Life' (1869) 'Portrait of a Young Girl' (1874), two Still Lifes, (1879), and 'Portrait of a Young Girl' (1888). It may be that her 1888 Salon-exhibited work is the painting that we are currently offering. Additionally, Sundberg's work was accepted for display at the World Exhibitions of 1878 and 1889 and she was also an invited exhibitor at the Women's Pavilion of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893.

 

In addition to her creative painting, Sundberg also studied the restoration of works of art and was, for several years, employed by the Louvre as a conservator of paintings.

 

We are pleased to offer a rare, late work by Sundberg that is not only a tour-de-force of the artist's intuitive painterly skill but also a bravura work of psychological penetration.

 

Reference:

E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 13, p.358; Thieme-Becker Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gengenwart, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 31/32, p. 293; Davenport’s Art Reference and Price Guide 2009/10 Edition, LTB Gordonsart, Inc. 2008, p. 2461; Swedish Biographical Lexicon, Christine Margaretha Sundberg, urn: sbl: 34683, Barbro Werkmäster; et al.