1873
1873
Oil on canvas.
39,0 cm x 44,5 cm.
A Jew Selling Boots (1873) by Albert Edelfelt (1854–1905) is set on Helsinki’s Market Square and depicts a shoe seller presenting his wares to a peasant and his son. Visible in the background are the obelisk erected in honour of Empress Alexandra in 1833, as well as the as yet undeveloped district of Katajanokka. Edelfelt painted this in 1873, at the age of 18, while studying in Adolf von Becker’s private academy. A Jew Selling Boots was the artist’s major work from that year and earned him an honourable mention in the spring exhibition of the Finnish Art Society.
