Helene Schjerfbeck showed her exceptional talent from a young age. She began studying art when she was about eleven years old, and left for Paris at the age of 18 after receiving a travel grant from the Imperial Russian Senate.
Wounded Warrior (1882) is an excellent example of the 20-year-old artist’s talent for traditional historical painting. The painting depicts the Finnish War (1808–1809), in which Sweden lost Finland to Russia.
Helene Schjerfbeck’s exceptionally long life and career are reflected in the increasing simplicity of the subjects. In a way, she moved closer to her own sphere of experience through portraits of relatives and still lifes to self-portraits, the last of which were made during the Second World War and are movingly dramatic due to their pared-down nature.
The value of the production of most Finnish early female artists has been acknowledged over time; Helene Schjerfbeck is the best-known of them all.