Esko Näätänen

Artist(s):Elga Sesemann Date:1964 Medium:oil on canvas Dimensions:86 x 61 cm

Elga Sesemann’s portrait of Esko Näätänen (1911–1963), Professor of Anatomy at the University of Turku from 1956 to 1963 and the artist’s late brother-in-law, was unveiled and donated to the University on 21 March 1964. Professor V. K. Hopsu gave the handover speech and Rector Tauno Nurmela received the portrait.

Vyborg-born artist Elga Sesemann (1922–2007) is particularly known for her emotionally charged self-portraits, typically painted with a palette knife and thick brushstrokes. In the early 1940s, she studied at the School of the Fine Arts Academy of Finland and the Free Art School. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sesemann lived with her spouse, artist Seppo Näätänen (1920–1964), in a studio built in the wilderness in Ruovesi. Sesemann, whose works are in the collections of Helsinki Art Museum and the Finnish National Gallery, among others, has garnered growing interest from art historians since the 1990s.

Emma Vuolaslempi 2024

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