Mysterious Portraits Created by Unknown Artists from Turku City Art Collection | 圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏──作者不明的神秘畫像

In the Turku City Art Collection, there are some artworks whose artist is unknown because of the lack of information. To identify the author of an artwork a lot of information is needed. One of the most important pieces of information among all would be the signature. Is there a signature on the painting? If it is a portrait of a specific person, is the one portrayed a well-known person? Does he or she have any relation to the artist? All these clues are important for identifying the author of an artwork; however, an artist does not always sign their work, and sitter for a portrait could also be an unknown person. In the lack of other supporting material or information, it can be difficult to identify the author. 

The name of artist could indicate relevant information such as where the artist is from. For example, in different areas or countries, the spelling of a name might vary. When we do not have enough information on the artist nor who made the artwork, we lack important material that might help us know more about the background of the artwork. 

Still, we can figure out some information if we investigate the details of an artwork. There is also a beneficial side to not knowing who the artist is: it can take away our bias or prejudice when we look at an artwork.  

Unknown prisoner

For example, there is an oil painting on wood called Unknown Prisoner from the Turku City Art Collection, which was created by an unknown artist. The painting’s acquisition time was 1897. The painting itself depicts a prisoner with his neck and wrists bound in shackles. He is holding a paper with unclear marks in one hand, and a hat in the other hand. The checkered suit that the prisoner is wearing is a 19th century style prisoner’s suit. 

Unknown artist: Unknown prisoner (Tuntematon vanki), 1770 – 1897, 126,5 x 59 cm, oil on wood. 

Turku City Art Collection.  Photo: Mikko Kyynäräinen / Museum Centre of Turku.

Unknown man

The next artwork we are going to have a look at, is an oil painting called Unknown Man, which is also created by unknown artist. The painting’s acquisition time was 1913. There is neither signature nor mark on the painting. The period of the painting is estimated to be around 1850, based on the clothes worn by the young gentleman. The young gentleman is wearing a shirt with a turnover collar and a puff tie fixed by a stud. These features indicate that the clothing style of the sitter was like the fashion trend in Europe in the 1850s. 

Unknown artist: Unknown man (Tuntematon mies), n. 1850, 23 x 21 cm, oil on canvas. 

Turku City Art Collection. Photo: Mikko Kyynäräinen / Museum Centre of Turku.

Unknown woman

Unknown Woman, another oil painting created by unknown artist, which is also believed to be made around 1850s. The period can be estimated by observing the clothing and hair style of the young lady; a fashion trend can reflect the period. From the painting, we can see that the young lady’s hair style is like the fashion trend in the 1840s Europe, that the hair is parted in the middle with ringlets on both sides. The neckline of the dress’s bodice is wide with low shoulders. Unlike in the 1830s, sleeves are not so full any more in the 1840–1850s. Tight sleeves and crochet shawls were more fashionable at that period. 

Unknown artist: Unknown woman (Tuntematon nainen), n. 1850, 33,5 x 29 cm, oil on canvas. 

Turku City Art Collection. Photo: Mikko Kyynäräinen / Museum Centre of Turku.

Mystery remains a mystery. Even though some of the key information is missing, we can still try to investigate the details and figure out something. A more important issue is that we can also see how somebody in the past used to look at a prisoner, a young gentleman or a young lady, and how they used art as a means to record what they saw, and what they wanted to show you. Isn’t it an interesting dialogue with mysteriously unknown artists? 

Text: 
Ching Lam Yeung 
Museum Assistant
Museum Centre of Turku 

圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏──作者不明的神秘畫像

在圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏中部分藝術品，由於缺乏足夠資料，無法判斷作者的身份。要辨別出畫作的作者，我們需要很多的資訊。其中一項最重要的線索就是藝術家的簽名。畫作是否有藝術家的簽名？如果是某人的肖像畫，畫中人是否知名人士？模特兒與藝術家又是否有任何關係？這些線索對於辨別出畫作作者都非常重要。然而，藝術家並不一定會在畫作上署名，而畫中人亦不一定是知名人士。當缺乏其他重要的資料或線索時，要找出畫作的作者十分困難。

藝術家的名字可能隱含重要資訊，譬如藝術家來自甚麼地方，有時候同一個名字在不同的地區或國家可能會有不同的寫法，由此名字可以作為其中一項有用的資訊。但當我們缺乏足夠資料去辨別誰是畫作的作者，我們同時亦缺乏了一項有助我們了解畫作背景的線索。

然而，當我們仔細考究畫作中其他的不同細節，仍然可以找出與畫作背景相關的蛛絲馬跡。不知道誰是畫作的作者亦有一個好處──我們可以不帶偏見與前設，更單純地欣賞一幅畫作。

 

身份不明的囚犯

在圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏中有一幅名為《身份不明的囚犯》的油畫，作者身份不明。畫作是在1897年成為圖爾庫市政府藏品。畫作描繪了一名頸部與雙手都被架上鎖鏈的囚犯，他一手拿著寫有塗鴉的紙張，另一手拿著一頂帽子。格子圖案的衣服是屬於19世紀的風格的囚衣。

作者不明, 《身份不明的囚犯》 (Tuntematon vanki), 1770 – 1897, 126,5 x 59 cm,
木板油畫, 圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏

圖:  米高‧顧那拉寧 (Mikko Kyynäräinen) / 圖爾庫博物館中心

身份不明的男子

另一幅油畫《身份不明的男子》，同樣作者不明。畫作在1913年成為圖爾庫市政府藏品。畫作上同樣沒有藝術家的簽名。基於畫中人身穿的服飾，畫作的創作年份估計為1850年代。畫中的年輕紳士身穿反領襯衫，頸上帶著維多利亞時期流行的領結，領巾以領針固定。這些衣著特點都暗示了畫中人身穿的服飾符合1850年代歐洲的穿著風格。

作者不明, 《身份不明的男子》 (Tuntematon mies), 約 1850年, 23 x 21 cm,
油畫布本, 圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏

圖: 米高‧顧那拉寧  (Mikko Kyynäräinen) / 圖爾庫博物館中心

身份不明的女子

另一幅作者不明的畫作是《身份不明的女子》，同樣估計大概是1850年代繪製。我們可以藉著觀察畫中年輕女子的穿著與髮型風格去估計畫作的年代──時裝風格與潮流可以作為反映時代的線索。在畫作中，我們可以看到年輕女子的髮型符合歐洲1840年代左右的流行風格──頭髮中分，臉頰兩旁的頭髮則捲成數束卷髮。禮服的上半部領口闊而低膊。與1830年代不同，比起蓬蓬的羊腿袖，在1840–1850年代緊身袖更為流行。鉤針披巾在當時亦同樣十分流行。

作者不明, 《身份不明的女子》 (Tuntematon nainen), n. 1850, 33,5 x 29 cm,
油畫布本, 圖爾庫市政府藝術典藏

圖:  米高‧顧那拉寧 (Mikko Kyynäräinen) / 圖爾庫博物館中心

雖然欠缺重要的資料，謎團依舊是沒有解開。我們仍然不知道誰是作畫的藝術家，而畫中人又是誰。但藉由觀察畫作中不同的細節，我們可以找出一些有助理解畫作背景的線索。更重要的是，我們可以看到過去某些人如何觀看一名囚犯、一名年輕紳士或一名年輕女子，以及他們如何以藝術作為方式，去紀錄他們曾經所看到的、以及他們想呈現給觀眾看的。這難道不是一場與神秘不明的藝術家有趣的對話嗎？

撰文：

楊清琳

藝術館助理

圖爾庫博物館中心

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