1863 -1945 · Finland, portrait, outdoors and art for children

Frankish portraits, Finnish shores and children's drawings reveal an independent and generous modernity in Venny Soldan-Brofeldt.

Venny Soldan-Brofeldt, born Wendla Irene Soldan, was born in Helsinki in 1863 and died in Lohja in 1945. Encouraged by her family, she studied in 1880 at the Drawing School of the Finnish Association of Arts, also received the teaching of Maria Wiik, then continued her training in Saint Petersburg and at the Colarossi Academy in Paris. Travels to Spain and Italy developed her taste for the outdoors, direct drawing and daily life. Returning to Finland, she painted popular figures, Savonian peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted popular figures, Savonia peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted popular figures, Savonia peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted popular figures, Savonia peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted popular figures, Savonia peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted popular figures, Savonia peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted popular figures, Savonia peasants, fishermen, children, sailors and portraits of cultural actors. In 1891, she painted the pageantry: the pose, the look and the simplicity of the frame present the writer as a close interlocutor. Soldan-Brofeldt refuses the narrow social roles assigned to women artists. She continued her profession while raising a family, traveled, worked in the archipelago and also designed illustrations, furniture, textiles, jewelry, wood sculptures and decorations. The world of childhood occupies a central place in her activity. Illustrator of stories and school books, she knows how to simplify the line without impoverishing observation. In 1906, she founded the Art pour les écoles association and worked sustainably on visual education. After the death of Juhani Aho in 1921, she continued to painting and experimenting, notably at the Lallukka artists' home and then in his Lohja retreat. His career links Finnish realism, bohemian freedom, design and educational commitment. The "Venny Soldan-Brofeldt" selection notably compares Portrait of Juhani Aho. His reading favors the story.

Soldan-Brofeldt does not separate art from life: portrait, shore, children's book or furniture come from the same free and attentive gaze.