Albert Edelfelt
ALBERT EDELFELT, "FROM MOSCOW (THE KREMLIN AND SAINT BASIL’S CATHEDRAL)"
Sign. 20 maj 1896. Water colour 32x47 cm.
Literature
Hintze no 766.
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ALBERT EDELFELT: "FROM MOSCOW (THE KREMLIN AND SAINT BASIL’S CATHEDRAL)"
Signed and marked: Moskva 20 May 1896. Watercolour, 32x47 cm..
From Moscow (The Kremlin and Saint Basil’s Cathedral)
Literature:B. Hintze, Catalogue no. 766
Photograph:Ernst Nordström’s photograph from an 1896 exhibition of works by Finnish artists (Finlands konstnärernas utställning 1896)
Exhibition:
Exhibition of works by Finnish artists association, 1896, no. 30
Edelfelt’s memorial exhibition, 1910, no. 156
Albert Edelfelt travelled to Saint Petersburg in spring 1896 to paint a portrait of Tsar Nicholas II at the Winter Palace before continuing to Moscow in order to attend the coronation in May. He also used this opportunity to complete various watercolour commissions – the cover of a volume of coronation greetings from the people of Finland and a painting of the coronation ceremony made from the steps of the Kremlin. These works are now in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg and the Kremlin in Moscow. While also painting portraits of his compatriots over a period of four months, Edelfelt was mainly engaged in various preliminary works dealing with the coronation venue in Red Square.
The view of the Kremlin and Saint Basil’s Cathedral was painted on Wednesday 8 May (20 May according to the modern calendar) 1896 from the window of Sapozhnikov, the leading silk merchant. This business was on Ilinka Street, to the immediate northeast of the square. Edelfelt described his work in a letter dated the day before the grand event:
"I’ve been busy painting a view of the Kremlin and Saint Basil’s – from the window of the Sapozhnikov silk merchant’s shop. I met Gervex there yesterday. He took breakfast today at K. Makovsky’s. /.../ I meet Armfelt, Montgomery, Linder, Kurten, Procopé, Spåre, Axel Gadolin and young Bruun on a daily basis, and I often bump into Schura Etter, the Reuterskiölds, Falkenberg, Lövenörn – I haven’t met Spada yet. – There is an unrivalled hustle and bustle about this place ..."
On the left we can see Saint Basil’s (Pokrovsky) Cathedral, built at the time of Ivan the Terrible in 1555–61. Its idiom alludes to the flames of a funeral pyre. To the right are the walls of the Kremlin with the Moscow River in the background. The circular Lobnoye Mesto platform built in the 1530s is visible in the foreground. Contrary to popular opinion, it was never a place of public execution, and nowadays this 13-metre long venue is understood to have served for reading official proclamations of the Tsar and holding religious ceremonies.
Marina Catani
Artist
Albert Edelfelt is considered one of Finland's greatest artists of the 19th century. After studying in Antwerp and Paris, he settled in France, where he received several exhibition medals and was honored with the Legion of Honour, notably for the famous portrait of Pasteur. He was also summoned by Alexander III to St. Petersburg to portray the Tsar's children. Edelfelt often returned to themes from Finnish history, such as his illustrations for 'The Tales of Ensign Stål.'
Edelfelt's works display an artistic breadth that ranges from everyday life in the Finnish archipelago to prestigious society portraits and historical paintings. In his depictions of everyday life, he managed to merge traditional academic painting with the new techniques of plein air painting, which achieved great success in France. The painting 'The Funeral of a Child' was awarded a third-class medal at the annual Salon in Paris in 1880, marking the most significant international success for Finnish painting at the time.
Albert Edelfelt is primarily represented in Ateneum in Helsinki, but also in the National Museum in Stockholm, as well as museums in Copenhagen, Luxembourg, and Paris.
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