Albert Edelfeldt is considered to be Finland’s greatest nineteenth century painter. After his studies in Antwerp and Paris, he settled in France, where he was rewarded with several exhibition medals and the Legion of Honor for his famous portrait of Pasteur. After Czar Alexander III called Albert Edelfeldt to St. Petersburg to paint portraits of the royal children, Edelfeldt also began to portray the Russian countryside and Russian customs. He later became involved in the struggle for a free Finland through his patriotic works and illustrations for “The Tales of Ensign Stål.” Edelfeldt’s work is represented at the Atheneum in Helsinki and at Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, as well as in museums in Paris, Copenhagen and Luxembourg.
