In most cultures, particularly western ones, we are less and less used to silence. Keeping silent for 1 hour is almost framed as an exercise of meditation. In the presence of other persons silence is often misinterpreted as not being interested or even intelligent enough to contribute to the conversation or discussion. Therefore, the title of the exhibition “Seeing silence”, which rediscovers and honors the paintings of Helen Schjerfbeck. Her Finish, Swedish speaking roots, with a broad European training in the arts, made her an accomplished painter in the impressionist’s tradition with a focus on painting portraits. The catalog from the exhibition (THE MET 2025) gives a great overview of her paintings when silence of her models tell stories. Portraits of women are particularly powerful examples of tranquility, and reading, but also uneasy silence in rocking chairs. The biographical sketch of Helen Schjerfbeck by Dita Amory sums up the vocation as “All I desire to do is paint” (p. 15). Towards the end of the 19th century and the 1st half of the 20th century this meant work in silence and she chose to work on silence as well. (Image: catalog in library Brussels 2026-2)
