Young Parisienne

Christine Sundberg (Swedish, 1837–1892).

Presented in a period golden maple frame.

Christine Sundberg first studied in Stockholm at Elise Brandt's Drawing and Painting Institute for Young Women. In 1864, the Swedish Royal Academy of Arts opened their department to female students, and Sundberg was chosen as one of the first 19 women admitted to study in that inaugural year. During her three years at the Royal Academy, she proved an outstanding student and was the recipient of several medals and prizes. In 1867, with her colleague and fellow student, Helena Millde, she moved to Germany to continue her studies at the Dusseldorf Art Academy under Ferdinand Fagerlin, the notable figural and genre painter. In 1868, Sundberg moved to Paris to study with Thomas Couture and Gustave Courtois, both rigorous teachers of anatomy, and, subsequently, at the Academie Colarossi, then France's center of classical figure drawing. After completing these extensive studies, Sundberg settled permanently in France and, except for occasional visits to Sweden, continued to live and work there until her death a quarter century later.

In addition to her successful career as a fine artist, Sundberg also became an expert restorer of works of art and, from 1872, was employed by the Louvre Museum as a restorer and conservator. She continued to exhibit widely and with success, participating in numerous solo and group shows including at the Academy of Fine Arts (1873) and at the Jeu-de-Paume (1874). She also exhibited frequently at several of the Paris Salons, with exhibits that included Still Life (1869), Portrait of a Young Girl (1874), Still Life (1879), and Portrait of a Young Girl (1888). This last salon-exhibited work, dated 1888, is, in all likelihood, the painting that is being offered here. Additionally, Sundberg's work was accepted for display at two World Exhibitions (1878, 1889) and she was also an invited exhibitor at the Women's Pavilion of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Christine Sundberg is well-listed in all relevant art reference works, including Thieme-Becker and Benezit's definitive dictionary of artists

We are pleased to offer an exceptionally fine character study by the artist. This exquisite work stands alone, not only as a tour-de-force that showcases Sundberg's absolute mastery of her craft but also as a bravura work of psychological penetration.

Signed center left recto

E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 13, p.358.

Thieme-Becker Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gengenwart, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 31/32, p. 293.

Davenport’s Art Reference, 2009/10 Edition, LTB Gordonsart, Inc. 2008, p. 2461.

Swedish Biographical Lexicon, Christine Margaretha Sundberg, urn: sbl: 34683, Barbro Werkmäster.