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

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 was a Swedish painter and calligrapher, renowned for her Impressionist landscapes imbued with gentleness 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 at the time that admitted female artists. She trained under masters such as Léon Bonnat and Jean-Léon Gérôme. Julia Beck settled permanently in France in 1888, moving to Vaucresson, near Paris. She joined the international artists' 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 misty aquatic scenes, a soft color palette, and a touch influenced by Japonism. Julia Beck exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and with the Union of Women Painters and Sculptors. In 1934, she was awarded the Legion of Honor for her contribution to French art. Despite her success in France, she remained largely unknown in Sweden, her native country, for many years. It was only at the end of the 20th century that his work was rediscovered and re-evaluated, notably thanks to retrospective exhibitions.