Alvar Cawén’s parents were the curate Frans Cawén and Eleonora Boije af Gennäs, the daughter of a country estate owner. He grew up in the vicarage at Mutainen in Korpilaks, where the family led a rather isolated and austere life. The family also included two older sisters.
There was a strong interest in the visual arts even in his childhood home; Alvar’s uncle Knut Boije af Gennäs was an amateur painter and had a close relationship with his nephew, and the artist Wilho Sjöström, who lived for a time in the vicarage, had a significant influence on Alvar’s choice of career path. Originally, he had envisaged a career as a doctor or musician, but his passion for painting led him to interrupt his studies at the Jyväskylä Lyceum and travel to Helsinki to study art.

Alvar Cawén studied at the Finnish Art Society’s drawing school in Helsinki from 1905 to 1907 and, from 1908, at various private art academies in Paris. He also undertook study trips to Brittany and Spain, where he was particularly fascinated by El Greco. In Paris, Cawén became acquainted with the new trends in art, which he adapted into his own style of expression. He was influenced by, for example, the Fauvists and Paul Gauguin, but it was Cubism that left a more lasting mark on his painting.

Alvar Cawén was one of the first Cubist artists in Finland, and in his interpretation of this style, the motifs are figurative and the compositions simplified and geometric, with angular, flat surfaces clearly delineated from one another. Cawén’s vibrant colour palette is also distinctive in comparison to the green-brown hues that dominate the work of Cubism’s founders, Braque and Picasso.

In 1916, he joined the so-called November Group, led by Tyko Sallinen. The group championed expressive painting and represented a counter-movement to the earlier Septem Group, which championed Impressionism under the leadership of Magnus Enckell. Other members of the November Group included Marcus Collin, Juho Rissanen, Ragnar Ekelund, Jalmari Ruokokoski and Eero Nelimarkka. Unlike many of the group’s members, Alvar Cawén was well received from the outset and was considered one of the group’s most talented members. His cultured, aristocratic and somewhat enigmatic character stood in stark contrast to Tyko Sallinen’s unpolished demeanour.

Cawén’s painting was distinctly Cubist only during a brief phase, but the Cubist composition, with its dark and rugged contours, provided a basic structure for his work. Cawén’s style, with its delicate, melancholic colouring, Cubist rhythm and abstract formal language, came to be known as ‘musical Cubism’.

In 1924, Cawén married Ragni Holmberg, who also developed into a talented artist. Four years later, their son Matti was born, whom Cawén frequently depicted. Relatives and other close associates were also used as models for group portraits and individual portraits.

From the late 1920s, public commissions took precedence and the intimate motifs became less frequent in Cawén’s output. Among these commissions were ‘Skidorna vallas’ (Waxing Skis) at the Finnish Normal School, ‘Stockflötning’ (Log Driving) for the headquarters of G.A. Serlacius Ab, and the altarpiece in Mänttä.

Cawén was a reserved person throughout his life. Although he was active in both social and club life in Helsinki, he had a strong need for solitude. He was most at ease when with his family at Illby Manor near Porvoo. He was extremely self-critical and practised his craft under the motto “Only doubt and anxiety yield results” .
Cawén’s health was already fragile during his youth in Paris, and he was frequently afflicted by various illnesses. He died in 1935, aged just 48.

The work now for sale, ‘Girl’, is a prime example of Cawén’s characteristic style and high calibre as an artist. The clearly defined areas of drapery and fabric in the background frame and form a fascinating contrast to the girl sitting peacefully, lost in her thoughts. The mood of the painting is refined and sacred, and there is something enigmatic about the girl, perhaps a reflection of the artist’s own personality and mental landscape.