Berndt Godenhjelm

Berndt Godenhjelm
Self-Portrait,1869
Born	Berndt Abraham Godenhjelm (1799-03-30)30 March 1799 Mäntyharju,Grand Duchy of Finland,Russian Empire(nowFinland)
Died	14 December 1881(1881-12-14)(aged 82) Helsinki,Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (now Finland)
Nationality	Finnish
Known for	Painting

Berndt Abraham Godenhjelm(March 30, 1799 - 14 December 1881) was a Finnish painter.

Personal life

Godenhjelm was born inMäntyharju.His parents were the county surveyor Adolf Fredrik Godenhjelm and Maria Elizabeth Argillander. His wife was Alexandra Fredrika Hornborg (died 1871). Their son B. F. Godenhjelm became a teacher.

Early career

He studied landscape painting inStockholmunderPer Gustaf von Heideken,and later he studied copper drawing inSaint Petersburg.He initially began his career in the courts, where he worked as an articled clerks deputy judge in 1826. However soon after he transitioned to painting, primarily producing commissioned works for churches and portraits.

Works and memberships

Photograph of Godenhjelm, likely from the early 1860s

During his career, he painted dozens ofaltarpiecesincluding ones for the Mäntyharju church, the Lovage church, theLiperichurch (1842), theJämsächurch (1848), theIkaalinenchurch (1874) and Finnish Lutheran Church inSitka, Alaskafounded byUno Cygnaeusin 1840. Some of his works have been preserved at theTampere Art Museumand theNational Museum of Finland.Godenhjelm was head teacher at theAcademy of Fine Arts, Helsinkidrawing school from 1848 to 1869.He was an honorary member of theArtists' Association of Finlandin 1864, and a board member of theFinnish Art Societyfrom 1852 to 1868.

Works

• 
  A Girl Reading,1830
• 
  Portrait of a Young Woman,unknown date
• 
  Woman Looking in the Mirror
• 
  Justice and Innocence,1832
• 
  Transfiguration of Jesus,1839
• 
  Self-Portrait in aSt. Petersburgatelier,1830–49
• 
  Scene fromJ. L. Runeberg´s "Moose Hunters",1840s
• 
  Galatea's Triumph,1840s
• 
  Ruotsinsalmiis Burning, Scene from theCrimean War,1855–56
• 
  IlmarinenForges theSampo,unknown date
• 
  The Meeting ofVäinämöinenandJoukahainen,Sketch
• 
  Swedish Soldier and Polish Girl
• 
  Alexander II
• 
  Robert Henrik Rehbinder
• 
  Robert Wilhelm De Geer,1865

See also

• Art in Finland

References

• Ilmari Heikinheimo: Finland elämäkerrasto. Helsinki: Werner Söderström Corporation, 1955. Page 232