The Rydeng Family

Promotion for Rydeng tailor shop. Published in 1907.

Early Art collecting in the Rydeng family: The story of Niels-Peder Rydeng ( 1880-1949) The interest of art collecting in the Rydeng family began with Niels-Peder Rydeng ( great-grandfather) around  1905. Niels-Peder who came from a humble background, had traveled to Berlin and Vienna around the 1890ties looking for work as a tailor. During his travels he browsed the different exhibitions and there he got introduced to early German modernism and expressionism. It was also around this time when Niels-Peder first saw the works by Edvard Munch at the November Exhibition in 1892. The Munch exhibition made a deep impact on Niels-Peder and influenced his collecting all through his life. In 1905 Niels-peder opened his own tailor-shop in Ellsinore, Denmark where he by coincidence hired the Finnish artist Tyko Sallinen (1879-1955) who was working as a tailor at the time.  Sallinen. Selfportrait. 1914. It did not take Niels-peder a long time to realize that the young Sallinen was not only a skillful tailor but also an extraordinary unique and brilliant painter. Niels-peder encouraged the young Sallinen to spend more time on painting and helped him acquire painting materials and canvases. In return Sallinen helped with making covers and designs to promote Niels-peder tailor shop. Sallinen wrote to his artist friends telling about Niels-peders generousness and how he got free room and border in exchange for paintings. The word quickly spread and soon more Finnish artists turned up. Among them were Juhu Mäkelä (1885-1943), Jonas Peson (1887-1952) , Jalmari Ruokokoski (1886–1936) and William Lönnberg (1887–1949).

William Lönnberg: Portrait of Leif Rydeng. 1914 Jalmari Ruokokoski: Portrait of Toni Rydeng. 1913. Jalmari Ruokokoski : Portrait of Niels-Peder Rydeng. 1913

The November group: The Finnish Expressionist colony.

It was in the Rydeng tailor shop in Ellsinore where the Finnish artists movement ” The November group” first was founded in 1910. Its leader was Tyko Sallinen (1879-1955) and other members included Marcus Collin (1882–1966), Alvar Cawén (1886–1935), Jalmari Ruokokoski (1886–1936) and William Lönnberg (1887–1949). The November group caused the greatest ever uproar in Finnish art during the early 19th century. In the Finnish art of its age it represented everything that was ugly, incompetent, distorting and primitive. Today the movement is considered one of the most important and influenced periods ever founded in Finnish art. Jalmari Ruokokoski (1886–1936) Tyko Sallinen (1879-1955)