Julia Beck (stockholm 1853 - Vaucresson 1935), Head Of Christ, Oil On Canvas, 1915

Julia Beck (Stockholm 1853 - Vaucresson 1935)
Head of Christ, 1915
Oil on oval canvas
46 x 38 cm
Signed, located and dated on the right side: Julia Beck, Paris 1915, Picpus

Julia Beck is a Swedish painter and calligrapher, known for her impressionist landscapes imbued with softness and melancholy. Born in Stockholm on December 20, 1853, Julia Beck came from a family of artisans. She began her artistic training at the Slöjdskolan (now Konstfack) from 1869 to 1872, then continued at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts until 1878. In 1883, she moved to Paris to study at the Académie Julian, one of the few French institutions welcoming women artists at the time. There she trained under masters such as Léon Bonnat and Jean-Léon Gérôme. Julia Beck settled permanently in France from 1888, settling in Vaucresson, near Paris.
She joined the international art colony of Grez-sur-Loing, a meeting place for many Scandinavian and international artists. Although she painted portraits to support herself, she devoted herself primarily to landscape painting. Her works are characterized by aquatic scenes shrouded in mist, a soft color palette, and a touch influenced by Japonism. Julia Beck exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and the Union of Women Painters and Sculptors.
In 1934, she was honored with the Legion of Honor for her contribution to French art. Despite her success in France, she remained unknown for a long time in her native Sweden. It was only at the end of the 20th century that his work was rediscovered and re-evaluated, notably thanks to retrospective exhibitions.