Werner Holmberg

{{Infobox person

| name = Werner Holmberg

| image = Gustaf Werner Holmberg.jpg

| caption = Portrait of Holmberg by Per Södermark in 1853

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|11|1|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (now Finland)

| death_date = {{death date and age|1860|9|24|1830|11|1|df=yes}}

| death_place = Düsseldorf, German Confederation

| nationality = Finnish

}}

Gustaf Werner Holmberg (1 November 1830 – 24 September 1860) was a Finnish landscape painter.{{cite web |last1=Reitala |first1=Aimo |title=Holmberg, Werner (1830 - 1860) |url=https://kansallisbiografia.fi/kansallisbiografia/henkilo/494 |website=Kansallisbiografia |accessdate=26 May 2020 |date=16 September 1997}}{{cite web |title=Werner Holmberg |url=http://www.lahteilla.fi/fi/person/werner-holmberg |website=Lahteilla |accessdate=26 May 2020}}

Biography

=Early life=

Holmberg was born in Helsinki. His father was Olof Henrik Holmberg (1799–1863) and mother Josefina Gustava Federley (1806–1840). His mother passed away from a lung disease and Olof raised his six surviving children with the help of his sisters. Werner was interested in painting from a young age, taking private lessons from {{ill|Pehr Adolf Kruskopf|fi}} and later Magnus von Wright. He also learned oil painting from Johan Erik Lindh. In 1848 he became a student at the just-formed Academy of Fine Arts. However his father Olof wanted his son to study law, so in his first year of university studies he also worked part-time at the National Board of Customs. At the university he learned painting from Berndt Godenhjelm and von Wright again. In 1850 he helped Robert Wilhelm Ekman paint frescoes in the Turku cathedral. In 1853 he finished his studies.

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|File:Holmberg, Revontulet.jpg|Aurora, 1849

|File:Holmberg, Juhannusyö Torniossa.jpg|Midsummer Day's Night at Tornio, 1849

|File:Werner Holmberg - Storms or Degervik crown office at Kirkkonummi.jpg|Storms or Degervik crown office at Kirkkonummi, 1852

}}

=Study at Düsseldorf=

In July 1853 he moved to Düsseldorf as the first Finnish art student, after many Norwegian and Swedish art students had already gone there to study. He studied there under Hans Gude. Erik Bodom was also recruited to help him with his work. Nordic topics were popular in Germany, and he first focused on them with works such as The Kyrö Rapids. His breakthrough was in 1856 with Autumn Morning, and with the new-found fame he was able to quickly sell all of his paintings.{{cite web |last1=Ahtola-Moorhouse |first1=Leena |title=Werner Holmberg - Saksalainen maisema |url=https://www.bukowskis.com/fi/news/919 |website=Bukowskis |accessdate=27 May 2020 |date=18 May 2016}} By this point Gude recognized Holmberg as fully trained and ended his tutorship, although they still kept close contact. As he ran out sketches of Finland, he began painting German landscapes.

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|File:Werner Holmberg - Suomalainen järvimaisema - A II 941 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|Finnish Lake Landscape, 1854

|File:Werner Holmberg Saksalainen maisema, 1855.jpg|German Landscape, 1855

|File:Werner Holmberg - Poplar Alley.jpg|Poplar Alley, 1856

|File:Werner Holmberg - Kyröskoski (1856).jpg|The Kyrö Rapids, 1856

|File:Werner Holmberg - Autumn Morning.jpg|Autumn Morning, 1856

|File:Holmberg, Saksalainen maalaistalo.jpg|German Farmhouse, 1857

|Werner Holmberg - Poplar Alley (1857).tif|Poplar Alley, 1857

}}

=After the study at Düsseldorf=

In 1857, after four years of being away, he returned to Finland, spending time with relatives. In the summer of 1858 he spent time in Norway and married Norwegian Anna Glad (1834–1909), a painter and daughter of the commander of Akershus Fortress, Christian Glad.{{cite web |title=Family Group Sheet |url=http://www.federley.com/families/FG08/FG08_461.HTM |website=Federley |accessdate=26 May 2020}} Gude also spent some time with Holmberg in Norway, painting watercolor sketches together near Christiania. Holmberg had settled to live in Düsseldorf where he spent the winter with Anna. They visited Finland in the summer of 1859 and spent time in Kuru.

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|File:Werner Holmberg - Rain at a fjord near Kristiania.jpg|Rain at a Fjord Near Kristiania, 1858, watercolor

|File:Werner Holmberg - Landscape from Kuru in Morning Light - A I 93 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|Landscape from Kuru in Morning Light, 1858

|File:Werner Holmberg - Landscape from Kuru in Evening Light - A I 92 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|Landscape from Kuru in Evening Light, 1858

|File:Holmberg, Metsä sadeilmalla.jpg|Forest in Rainy Weather, 1859

|Werner Holmberg - Autumn Morning in Ringerike.jpg|Autumn Morning in Ringerike, 1859

|File:Holmberg, Aihe Torisevalta.jpg|A Motif from Toriseva, 1859

}}

=Death=

But by early 1860 he was having considerable difficulties with his lungs, relating to tuberculosis that he had already struggled with for years. In the spring they had a daughter, Betzy (who later became a composer) but the couple also ran into some financial troubles as they had a harder time selling paintings.{{cite web |title=306. Werner Holmberg (1830-1860) |url=http://www.hagelstam.fi/werner-holmberg-1830-1860-1 |website=Hagelstam |accessdate=27 May 2020}} The situation looked brighter again when he was invited to be a professor of landscape art in a new art school in Weimar. However, the invitation was cancelled and Werner was now bedridden with his sickness.{{cite news |last1=Kokko |first1=Tiina |title=Keuhkotauti vei nuoren taiteilijan – Werner Holmberg ehti silti maisemamaalauksen mestariksi |url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9646510 |accessdate=26 May 2020 |work=Yle |date=3 June 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Valjakka |first1=Timo |title=Vain 30-vuotiaana kuollut Werner Holmberg uudisti suomalaisen maisemamaalauksen – Hänen töitään esittelevä näyttely on herkullinen kesäkohde |url=https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000005282997.html |accessdate=26 May 2020 |work=Helsingin Sanomat |date=8 July 2017}} As he died in September, many of his paintings were left unfinished. One of his sisters and an older brother had also died from the same sickness.

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|File:Werner Holmberg - Cottage in Kuru - A I 94 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|Cottage in Kuru, 1859

|File:Werner Holmberg - Finnish Hop Garden (1860).jpg|Finnish Hop Garden, 1860

|File:Werner Holmberg - Storm on Lake Näsijärvi.jpg|Storm on Lake Näsijärvi, 1860

|File:Werner Holmberg - Mail Road in Häme.jpg|Mail Road in Häme, 1860

|File:Werner Holmberg Maantie Hämeessä (Helteinen kesäpäivä).JPG|Road in Häme (A Hot Summer Day), 1860

|File:Werner Holmberg - Ideal Landscape (1860).jpg|Ideal Landscape, 1860, his last painting with slight final touches by Hans Gude

}}

Legacy

Holmberg is the first Finnish painter to have received international recognition. His effect especially to Finnish landscape painting was large.{{cite news |last1=Ekman-Kolari |first1=Maria |title=Werner Holmberg oli suomalaisen maisemamaalauksen edelläkävijä – huomattava osa tauluista löysi ostajansa Suomen ulkopuolelta |url=https://www.arvopaperi.fi/uutiset/werner-holmberg-oli-suomalaisen-maisemamaalauksen-edellakavija-huomattava-osa-tauluista-loysi-ostajansa-suomen-ulkopuolelta/f10facb5-6f06-4e56-90e5-d0169eb3a343 |accessdate=9 August 2020 |work=Arvopaperi |date=7 June 2020}}

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|Werner Holmberg by Walter Runeberg, 1862 - Cygnaeus Gallery - Helsinki - DSC05667.JPG|Bust by Walter Runeberg, 1862

|Victor Westerholm - Werner Holmberg's Graveside - A-1993-402 - Kansallisgalleria.jpg|Werner Holmberg's Graveside, Victor Westerholm, 1882

|Medaillon portrait 1 of 16 Holmberg by Ville Vallgren.jpg|Medallion of Holmberg on the facade of Ateneum by Ville Vallgren, 1887

}}