The Mystery of the Carpenter

Hugo Gerhard Simberg (24 June 1873 – 12 July 1917) was a Finnish symbolist painter and graphic artist.

Simberg was born on 24 June 1873, at Hamina (Swedish: Fredrikshamn), Finland, the son of Colonel Nicolai Simberg and Ebba Matilda Simberg (née Widenius). Simberg learned to read thanks to his aunt Alexandra, who ran a private school in the family home. His aunt was an amateur painter and likely influenced Simberg's decision to become a painter.

In 1891, at the age of 18, he enrolled at the Drawing School of the Viipuri Friends of Art, and he also studied at the Drawing School of the Finnish Art Society from 1893 to 1895. His teachers there were, among others, Helene Schjerfbeck and Elin Danielson-Gambogi. Then, in 1895, after his aunt had sent him a newspaper clipping about symbolism with the hope that it would help him find the courage to embark on a new path, he decided to become the private pupil of Akseli Gallen-Kallela at his wilderness studio Kalela in Ruovesi. He studied under Gallen-Kallela for three periods between 1895 and 1897.

In 1896, Simberg went to London, and in 1897 to Paris and Italy.