20th century landscape art | Life in the Realm of Fantasy

Tag Archives: 20th century landscape art

January 23, 2026 · 6:00 am

#FineArtFriday: Spring Landscape by Ellen Favorin ca 1900

Artist: Ellen Favorin (1853–1919)

Title: English: Spring Landscape (Suomi: Kevätmaisema)

Genre: landscape painting

Date: circa 1900

Dimensions: height: 20.7 cm (8.1 in)

Collection: HAM Helsinki Art Museum

What I love about this painting:

Ellen Favorin shows us a pleasant spring day beside a calm lake, with leaves on the birch trees just beginning to bud out. I especially like how she has portrayed the foliage and shrubbery along the lake shore, with the water high from the spring snowmelt, and the birch trees standing with their feet submerged.

Someone is enjoying a quiet day of fishing, and I would love to be them! What a perfect day.

I will find more paintings by this artist and feature them in the future.

About the artist, via Wikipedia:

Elsa “Ellen” Favorin (31 December 1853– 27 November 1919 was a Swedish-speaking Finnish painter.

Her parents were Anders Abraham Favorin and Lovisa Ingman. After attending the painting schools in Helsinki and Stockholm, she continued her studies in Munich, Düsseldorf and at the Académie Julian in Paris. She often painted landscapes and was one of the artists who joined Victor Westerholm in the artists’ colony at Önningeby on the island of Åland. She died together with her sister in a fire at their home in Lohja in 1919. [1]

As you can see, Wikipedia had little to say about her. However, you can find an excellent and comprehensive biography of Ellen Favorin at NiceArtGallery.com.

Credits and Attributions:

IMAGE: Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Ellen Favorin – Spring Landscape.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ellen_Favorin_-_Spring_Landscape.jpg&oldid=864051225 (accessed January 22, 2026).

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “Ellen Favorin,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ellen_Favorin&oldid=1333359650 (accessed January 22, 2026).

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Tagged as 20th century landscape art, Fine Art Friday, Spring Landscape by Ellen Favorin, Women Artists

October 3, 2025 · 6:00 am

#FineArtFriday: Autumn in Towadako by Li Mei-shu

Title: Autumn in Towadako

Artist: Li Mei-shu

Date: 1978

Medium: oil on canvas.

What I love about this painting:

I love how this painting shows a pool of water at the base of the trees. I suspect the pond is dry during summer but in fall, the low area fills. The light shines through the trees and reflects on the water. It’s a scene of quiet beauty, a moment of serenity in the forest. I really like this painting.

Autum has arrived in the area where I live. The trees are beginning to turn colors, and unfortunately, the rains have come. But dryer weather is on the horizon, and we will be treated to red and gold leaves decorating the maples and other deciduous trees.

Soon, the streets and lanes in my town will be dressed in a final burst of color. It must be enjoyed while we can, as the beautiful leaves will soon turn brown and soggy, and the eternal gray of the Northwest winter will set in.

The coffee shops are all pushing their pumpkin spice blends, although I have so far resisted. However, I have pulled out a few cozy sweaters for when the weather really turns cool.

About the Artist, via Wikipedia:

Li Mei-shu (13 March 1902 – 6 February 1983) was a Taiwanese painter, sculptor, and politician. He was best known for his paintings as well as his restoration attempt of the Changfu Temple.

Li was born to an upper-class family in Sankakuyū (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Saⁿ-kak-éng), Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Sanxia District, New Taipei City) on 13 March 1902. He began to demonstrate a propensity for painting in his early years. In 1918, he was accepted into the Painting Division of the Taiwan Governor-General’s National Language School. He taught himself painting after school through a copy of A Collection of Lectures, which he ordered from Japan through post. Upon graduating, he taught at Zuihō Public School (in modern-day Ruifang District). During this time, he participated in the Summer Art Seminar organized by Kinichiro Ishikawa. His works ‘Still Life and Backstreets of Sanxia’ were selected for the first and second Taiwan Art Exhibitions (Taiten), respectively. [1]

To learn more about Li Mei-shu, go to Li Mei-shu – Wikipedia.

Also, go to https://www.limeishu.org/

Credits and Attributions:

IMAGE: Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Autumn in Towadako, by Li Mei-shu.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Autumn_in_Towadako,_by_Li_Mei-shu.jpg&oldid=1031830163 (accessed October 2, 2025).

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “Li Mei-shu,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Li_Mei-shu&oldid=1310846803 (accessed October 2, 2025).