Alida Rabe was a studious Swedish painter of portraits, religious subjects, and history.

Born in Västra Götaland County, Sweden, Rabe undertook her early tuition in Stockholm before heading to Düsseldorf, which was considered one of Europe’s foremost artistic environments. She was 19 when undertaking this trip and it’s unclear whether she travelled alone. It’s conceivable that she followed a similar path to Sophie Ribbing who enrolled at the Düsseldorf Academy around the same time. She’s known to have painted Ribbing’s portrait.

A year after arriving in Germany, Rabe travelled to Paris to train with Ange Tissier and the eminent Ary Scheffer. It would have been an exceedingly academic environment and one that she undoubtedly flourished in. From around 1863, she worked predominantly in France but little is known of her life.

Only a handful of her works have been digitised, so the breadth of her oeuvre is unknown. But it appears that, aside from portraiture, she specialised in both religious and historical scenes - faithfully working in the image of the Old Masters.

Exhibited

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts.

Timeline

1825

Born in Fors, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, to Lars Reinhold Rabe, the district chief, and Maria Anna Gordon Olbers (nee Ahlberg).

Trained in Stockholm under Johan Gustaf Köhler and Olof Södermark.

1854

Trained in Dusseldorf, Germany.

1855-1858

Trained under Ange Tissier and Ary Scheffer in Paris.

1863

Returned to Paris where she remained for an extended period of time.

1870

Died in Stockholm, Sweden.