Albert Edelfelt
When the Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt painted The Luxembourg Gardens, he had already spent more than a decade living and working in Paris and was well established in the city’s art circles. Yet the painting is something of a rarity in his work: despite his long stay in France, it is the only large-scale composition in which he chose Paris itself as the subject.
The painting also stands out stylistically. Edelfelt incorporated elements associated with Impressionism, particularly the use of complementary colors to heighten the sense of light and contrast. Unlike many Impressionists, however, he developed the work slowly, refining it over more than a year through a combination of studio work and outdoor observation. When the painting was exhibited in 1887, critics responded enthusiastically.
Today, The Luxembourg Gardens is often seen as a symbol of the close artistic ties between Finland and Paris at a time when the French capital stood at the center of the international art world.
P.S. Have you ever been to Paris? You can get a glimpse of the city through the beautiful Parisian scenes of Jean Béraud! You can also explore Parisian life through our course on French Impressionism.