Sigrid Hjerten, 1885–

Sigrid Hjertén was born 1885 in Sundsvall, Sweden. She was a pioneer of Swedish expressionism and the only female member of the artist group De Åtta. Together with her husband Isaak Grünewald, she traveled to Paris in 1909, in order to study painting in the studio of Matisse. Before Hjertén took up painting, she taught textile design, and like Matisse’s work, is a very palpable. She so was deeply inspired by Cezanne. In 1911 Hjertén’s and Grünewald’s son Iván was born. He is a frequent subject of her paintings. Since she was not in the cold Swedish climate, (she called Sweden “the bear country”), she spent long periods of time in southern Europe with her family.

There is a wide-spread myth that Sigrid Hjertén was completely unsuccessful as an artist during her lifetime. However, she participated in over 100 exhibitions during her career as a painter. Solo shows at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and at Gothenburgs Konstholl were among the most important shows.

the artist worked on very personal topics. One of her most famous pictures is the painting Atelierinteriör, The central motif of the painting is two men, engaged in an intense discussion with one another, and the painter Einar Jolin (likewise a member of De Åtta). Between the two men the artist painted herself; she sits with her hands in her lap, her gaze rigid, facing straight ahead. In the foreground of the picture, Hjertén set a confident female figure. She is dressed in all black, dividing the image plane like a shadow. Perhaps this is an ideal self-image of the artist. The painter Nils of Dardel sits beside. In the far right corner, her son Iván gazes out of the picture.

Sigrid Hjertén was born 1885 in Sundsvall, Sweden. She was a pioneer of Swedish expressionism and the only female member of the artist group De Åtta. Together with her husband Isaak Grünewald, she traveled to Paris in 1909, in order to study painting in the studio of Matisse. Before Hjertén took up painting, she taught textile design, and like Matisse’s work, is a very palpable. She so was deeply inspired by Cezanne. In 1911 Hjertén’s and Grünewald’s son Iván was born. He is a frequent subject of her paintings. Since she was not in the cold Swedish climate, (she called Sweden “the bear country”), she spent long periods of time in southern Europe with her family.

There is a wide-spread myth that Sigrid Hjertén was completely unsuccessful as an artist during her lifetime. However, she participated in over 100 exhibitions during her career as a painter. Solo shows at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and at Gothenburgs Konstholl were among the most important shows.

Sigrid Hjertén was plagued by depression for many years, in 1936 they caused her to stop painting. She spent the last years of her life in a psychiatric institution in Stockholm. In 1948 she died due to the ramifications of a failed lobotomy.

Today Sigrid Hjerten is one of the most important artists of Swedish modernism. Her paintings are in the collections of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and the Göteborgs Konstmuseum, among others.

Issac Grunwald 1916

Sigrid Hjertén was plagued by depression for many years, in 1936 they caused her to stop painting. She spent the last years of her life in a psychiatric institution in Stockholm. In 1948 she died due to the ramifications of a failed lobotomy.

Today Sigrid Hjerten is one of the most important artists of Swedish modernism. Her paintings are in the collections of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and the Göteborgs Konstmuseum, among others.

There is the widespread myth that Sigrid Hjertén had no success as an artist during her lifetime. During her active career as a painter she participated in more than 100 exhibitions. Her most important appearances were solo exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and the Kunsthalle in Göteborg.

The artist has often worked with very personal themes using colour to show emotion. As her depression worsened so did the use of darker colours.