Early masterpiece by Helene Schjerfbeck in new December auction
Helene Schjerfbeck, ”Konfirmanden”, detail. For sale at the December + Asian Auction Dec 13–14.
Helene Schjerfbeck was 29 years old when she painted The Confirmation Candidate, which will now be sold at Bukowskis having not been on public display in Europe since 1954. This impressionistic piece was clearly influenced by the modern Parisian trends, and will be sold at a new auction dedicated to masterpieces: the December auction.
The work is one of the artist’s best known and most loved subjects as a lithograph. After more than 60 years, the original can finally be seen by anyone attending the viewing for the December auction at Bukowskis’ newly renovated premises in Berzelii Park, Stockholm.
Helene Schjerfbeck’s (1862-1946) talent was discovered at the age of just eleven, and she was the youngest ever recipient of a travel scholarship enabling her to study in locations including Paris and Brittany. On returning to Helsinki, her recent discovery of impressionism was met with incomprehension, since historical painting was deemed to have the highest status within Finnish art. It was during this period in Helsinki that the portrait in question was painted.
“We don’t know much about Helene Schjerfbeck,” says Andreas Rydén, Deputy Managing Director of Bukowskis Auctions. “But she has always revealed a great deal about herself through her art. Even here, long before she found her own artistic language, the subject demonstrates both insight and knowledge of people. From the charming gleam on her nose to the way the girl shyly hides in her reading, perhaps in an attempt to escape attention. This truly is a unique piece.”
In later years, Schjerfbeck developed her own style which captured the anguish and darkness of the soul with an intensity for which the only contemporary comparison is with Edvard Munch. Her later deeply sensitive and original works have always been admired, and major exhibitions in recent years (Waldemarsudde, Ateneum, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt) have placed Schjerfbeck firmly among the very greatest artists of her time.
Facts:
Lithographs of The Confirmation Candidate have previously fetched high prices at Bukowskis. This subject has been adapted as a lithograph but was never reinterpreted in oils, as Schjerfbeck often did with other subjects.
Estimate: SEK 5.000.000 – 7.000.000.
Bukowskis has previously sold works by the artist including:
* The Landlord I (1928). Hammer price (incl. buying commission) SEK 6,820,652
* Blue Madonna (1943). Hammer price (incl. buying commission) SEK 6,703,394
* Girl in Profile in Green Dress (after 1933). Hammer price (incl. buying commission) SEK 5,991,896
If you have any questions about the piece or the December auction, please contact
Carl Barkman, Head Specialist, +46 (0)708 92 19 17 carl.barkman@bukowskis.com
Andreas Rydén, Deputy Managing Director and Art Specialist, +46 (0)72 858 71 39 andreas.ryden@bukowskis.com
