Fanny Churberg, Spring Landscape, 1876.
Fanny Churberg, Spring Landscape, 1876. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Image: Finnish National Gallery

Pioneering women artists

This research project focuses on pioneering women artists in the 19th century. They were active mainly in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany, but also in the Baltic countries, as well as in Great Britain, France and Italy.

The starting point of the project is to examine the opportunities for Nordic women artists to study and work both in their home countries and also abroad, especially in Germany. The main German cities that are important for this project were Düsseldorf, Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Karlsruhe and Weimar.

The approach of this research project is cultural-historical, and the topic is examined from the perspectives of networking, travel, and the movement between the centre and the periphery in various fields in the arts, culture and sciences.

An international research group will be gathered for the project. It aims to trace the progress of the artists of the period, their works and networks, and to present new, lesser-known artists and their works. Another aim is to compare the education and status of women artists in different countries in the period being studied.

The Varhaiset naistaiteilijat (‘Pioneering women artists’) research project was launched at the Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, in September 2020. The research project is led by the curator Anne-Maria Pennonen, PhD. The aim is to hold the first international Knowledge Sharing Workshop in the autumn of 2021.

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Author:Anne-Maria Pennonen

Curator, PhD
anne-maria.pennonen@ateneum.fi

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