Hugo Simberg

Hugo Simberg: Inlet with a smallbridge at Niemenlautta, Wyborg, Karelia near the artist estate.Signed Hugo. Oil on board. 35 x 43 cm. Hugo Simberg, b. Frederikshamn 1873, d. Ähtäri 1917 Inlet with a small bridge at Niemenlautta, Wyborg, Karelia nearthe artist estate. Signed Hugo. Oil on board. 35 x 43 cm. Verified by the artist's wife on the reverse.

HUGO SIMBERG FINNISH, 1873 - 1917 33.2 by 47.5cm., 13 by 18¾in. DESCRIPTION signed and dated Hugo Simberg / 1900 lower right oil on panel EXHIBITED Turun Taideyhdistyksen vuosinäyttely, 1901 Helsinki, Ateneum; Tampereen, Taidemuseo; Vaasa, Pohjanmaan Museo; Turun, Taidemuseo, Hugo Simberg, 2000-2001, no. 230 CATALOGUE NOTE The present work was painted near the Simberg family's country estate Niemenlautta, thirty kilometres southwest of Vyborg in Karelia. 1900 marked a period of independence for Simberg. He had received considerable critical acclaim for the work that he showed at the Ateneum's autumn exhibition of 1898, and in 1899 was granted membership of the Finnish Artist's Association. The jury at the Paris World's Fair in 1900 awarded him an honourable mention and, to further consolidate his new-found reputation as an artist of promise, he rented his first studio in Helsinki.

signed and dated signed and dated 1900 l.r. oil on panel this lot contains 1 item(s). provenance: purchased by the present owner in the mid-1980s exhibited: turun, taideyhdistyksen vuosinäyttely, 1901 helsinki, ateneum; tampereen, taidemuseo; vaasa, pohjanmaan museo; turun, taidemuseo, hugo simberg, 2000-01, no. 230 the present work was painted near the simberg family's country estate niemenlautta, thirty kilometres south-west of vyborg in karelia. simberg knew niemenlautta well, having holidayed there often since childhood, and the estate, together with ruovesi where he lived and worked alongside akseli gallen-kallela during the late 1890s, were places that would always have a special meaning for him. a keen sailor himself, the present work was possibly painted from the island of pitkäpaasi, off the vyborg coast, a favoured destination for simberg on his sailing and painting trips. seascape in moonlight is one of a number of works he executed that include the motif of the boat. an image of both freedom and loneliness, the ethereal form of the moonlit vessel in the present work suggests the artist's own deep rooted circumspection. 1900 marked a period of independence for simberg. he had received considerable critical acclaim for the work that he showed at the ateneum's autumn exhibition of 1898, and in 1899 was granted membership of the finnish artist's association. the same year he spent what would have been a physically exhausting summer with his brother in tbilisi in russia. following his return, the jury at the paris world's fair in 1900 awarded him an honourable mention and, to further consolidate his new-found reputation as an artist of note, he rented his first studio in helsinki. instead of drifting from place to place, therefore, he was now able to apply himself wholly to his art. fig. 1: guido simberg, the artist's brother, sailing off niemenlautta, 1897, (photo taken by the artist)

Hugo Simberg (Finnish, 1873-1917) Winter signed 'Hugo Simberg' (lower right) oil on canvas 10 x 12½ in. (25.4 x 31.8 cm.) Painted in the 1890s Provenance Blenda Simberg, Helsinki (the artist's sister), a gift from the artist. President Risto Ryti, Helsinki (President of Finland from 1940-1944). Dr. P. Soisalo, Helsinki, a gift from the above in the late 1940s for treatment received whilst in prison and thence by descent to the present owner. Literature S. Saarikivi, Hugo Simberg, Elämä ja tuotanto, Helsinki, 1948, no. 513. Lot Notes Winter was painted in Karelia in the 1890s, or possibly in the winter of 1900, which Simberg spent in the village of Kuukauppi in Antrea, a region of Karelia, working on a commission of 18 etchings for the Kymin paper mills. 'Months of painstaking labour with the etching needle seem to have left their mark on Simberg's oil paintings of that period. It was then that he painted a series of landscapes with an exquisitely fine brush, executing them with impeccable technical command and delicate treatment of light' (Anja Olavinen, exh. cat Hugo Simberg, Ateneum, Helsinki, Feb.-May 2000, p. 82).