Artist Name: Sigrid Hjertén
Swedish, 1885 – 1948
Sigrid Hjertén is a frontfigure of modern art and feminsim. Famous for her expressive color painting.
Art Styles: Modernism & Expressionism
Inspiration: Henri Matisse, Her husband, Isaac Grünewald & Areas around Stockholm (Cavalli-Bjorkman, 2019).
Associated with: Paintings of her husband & colorful paintings (cool-toned colors mixed with warm-toned colors).
Facts: Sigrid Hjertén was born in Sweden, 1885. She grew up in a wealthy family and studied textile. She then decided to go to Paris and become a student of Henri Matisse. It was here she met her husband, Isaac Grünewald. The couple got married and got a kid named Ivan. After her time in Paris she was an very active artist, which made her well-known both in Paris and in Sweden. She did many exhibitions together with her husband and the other Matisse student. Matisse was her main inspiration throughout her whole career, which you clearly can see in her art work. She used the same color scheme and motives. Hjerén was not only interested in painting but also fashion and design. She experienced some obstacles throughout career since was a female in at that time mans-dominated art world. Being married to Grünewald did not always make it easier since they were ”competitors”. To downgrade her, critics often referred her to ”Miss Grünewald” instead of ”Miss Hjerén”. The family separated in 1932 and then Sigrid Hjertén got mentally sick and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She then started using even more extreme colors in her paintings. Sigrid Hjertén passed away in 1948 (Cavalli-Bjorkman, 2019).
Do I like her paintings? YESYESYES!! I would say she is my favorite artist. As I mentioned in previous posts she was the artist that sparked my interest for art. I love her use of colors and for me she symbolizes feminism and standing up for yourself.
References: Cavalli-Bjorkman, G. (2019). Sigrid Maria Hjertén. Retrieved from
https://skbl.se/sv/artikel/SigridHjerten
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