Hildegard Thorell

Who was Hildegard Thorell?

Hildegard Katarina Thorell, was a Swedish painter. Thorell was born in Kroppa parish, Värmland County on 22 February 1930. She was the daughter of an ironworks owner.

In 1872 she married to the auditor O.R. Thorell. She studied at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm 1876 - 1879, where she was the only married female student. After that Thorell was apprenticed to Bertha Wegmann. Later she travelled to Paris, where she studied for Léon Bonnat and Jean-Léon Gérôme.

Thorell mainly painted large portraits, for example "Modersglädje" och "Damporträtt". At the turn of the 20th century she portrayed among others Gunnar Wennerberg, Isak Gustaf Clason and C.F. Lundquist.