“People said that I was a dreamer, but I have proved that I did those things of which I dreamed.”
Author: Hanna-Reetta Schreck
Finnish original: Minä maalaan kuin jumala. Ellen Thesleffin elämä ja taide
Publisher: Teos, 2019
Genre: nonfiction
Number of pages: 400 pp. + 32 pp. ill.
Reading material: Finnish original
Rights sold: Swedish, Svenska Literatursällskapet i Finland
Ellen Thesleff (1869–1954) was an internationally significant Finnish artist and one of Finland’s first expressionist painters.
She was a trailblazer that cleared the way for future women artists at a time when it was difficult to gain recognition for their work in the male-dominated art world. Like her sisters Gerda and Thyra, Thesleff was an emancipated woman; each made a living in her own independent profession. Defying the era’s gender norms, she cut her hair short and began to dress in men’s clothing with a tie around her neck.
In the skillful hands of art historian Schreck, the different phases of Ellen Thesleff’s life and work come to life. The book describes the artist’s cosmopolitan adventures, just as at home in Paris and Florence as in Finland, and tells of her eye-opening experiences in the throbbing pulse of the European modern age. The reader joins a lively and engaging conversation between Thesleff and the narrator of the book, friends speaking to each other from across the decades.
“I’ve got a whole new way of working. You see, I push myself down into the sand so deep that I can hear the planet’s heartbeat. I follow the rhythm of these strokes and then I take up my colours and naturally, my line, with confidence and freedom. What it will become, I don’t know, but in any case, it will be something wonderful.”
“Art and cultural historian Hanna-Reetta Schreck sets out to make the life story of Ellen Thesleff (1869–1954) shine. She clearly hopes to share the life energy of a truly extraordinary human being. She has done all this and more in an excellent way.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
About the author:
Hanna-Reetta Schreck