Image: Helene Schjerfbeck - The Convalescent

Description: This picture was painted in St. Ives in Cornwall, England. Helene Schjerfbeck visited the region twice in the late 1880s. The sitter in the picture was a vivacious girl of about six to whom her exasperated teacher was only too glad to give leave to sit for artists. The painting was included in the Paris Salon the year of its completion under the title Première verdure, or ‘first greenery’. A sick child was a common subject in art at the time, but Schjerfbeck’s painting is also about recovery and the return of vitality. The brushwork is lively and the treatment of light is reminiscent of impressionism. The painting was praised in Paris. The reception back home was initially controversial – the picture was considered excessively realistic. However, the Finnish Art Society decided to purchase it, and soon after its completion the painting was acceded to Ateneum’s collection. Helene Schjerfbeck had an exceptionally long and productive career. She began art studies at the age of 11, and by the time she died at 83 she had painted well over a thousand pictures. Her path as an artist ranged from history paintings in the 1870s to modernist movements in the 1940s.
Title: The Convalescent
Credit: https://www.kansallisgalleria.fi/fi/object/624337
Author: Helene Schjerfbeck
Permission: This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse The author died in 1946, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 75 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/PDMCreative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0falsefalse The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain". This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No