Eero Järnefelt

Along with Albert Edelfelt and Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Eero Järnefelt is one of the best-known artists of the national romantic era in Finland. His most important production includes realistic works painted in the 1880s and 1890s, which have a well-established place in the history of Finnish art.

Eero Järnefelt took lessons at the Finnish Artists' Association's drawing school as a schoolboy in the 1870s but found the studies tedious and even considered the profession of a teacher after graduation. However, Järnefelt's father was against these plans. The promising artist continued his studies first in St. Petersburg from 1883 to 1886 and then in Paris from 1886 to 1891. Only a few Finnish art students at that time studied in Russia. However, family relations led Järnefelt to St. Petersburg, where his uncle Michail Clodt worked as a teacher at the Academy of Arts. Järnefelt later felt he had wasted his time in St. Petersburg. However, it was there where the foundation was laid for his technical skills, and Russian realism also greatly influenced the stylistic development in his art.

Järnefelt reached his artistic maturity in Paris. He studied at the Académie Julian with Tony Robert-Fleury as his teacher. He was particularly interested in naturalism and the art of Jules Bastien-Lepage, the leading figure of the style. From 1888 onwards, the influence of Paris began to be seen more and more clearly in his art. Completed that year, the "French Wine Room" contains references to Russian naturalism, while another work from the same era, "Savo Boat", is influenced by the art of Bastien-Lepage in both its colour scheme and expression.

Other influencers for Järnefelt from the time spent in Paris were, for example, Jean-Francois Millet, Eduard Manet and especially P.A.J. Dagnan-Bouveret, whose influence can be seen in Järnefelt's "Interior scene" now being sold at the Helsinki Winter Sale.
"Interior scene" was painted in Janakkala in 1889, and it is part of Järnefelt's series of works presenting Finnish everyday life. In the late 19th century, one of the most important phenomenons in Finnish art was the description of folklife. Most artists focused on presenting the everyday life of the peasant people, but Järnefelt also took a look at the way of living of the Finnish upper class. The interior scene from 1889 shows a sophisticated coffee moment in a bourgeoise home. Järnefelt has created intensity and variety in the artwork with different patterns, textures and rich interior elements. Together with the warm colours, they create an inviting and relaxed atmosphere in the painting. According to Ludvig Wennervirra, the people in the background are farmer V. Kiipula and his daughter. The bearded man sitting casually on the couch has remained unknown.