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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Kirkonrakentajasuku Rijf. Pohjalaisen kirkonrakentajasuvun rakennus- ja suunnittelutuotanto sekä toiminta kustavilaisen aikakauden Suomessa

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This dissertation deals with the building and design work of the church builder family Rijf in Österbotten during the Gustavian Period. The Rijfs were Finland- Swedes and entailed four mason-based master builders: Thomas Rijf (1726-1803), his sons Jacob (1753-1808) and Carl (1756-1801), and Jacob´s son Carl Jacobsson Rijf (1783-1808). The most famous member of the family was Jacob Rijf. He was the first Finnish master builder to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and was supervised by the leading architects of the Board of Public Works and Buildings, Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz (1716-1796) and Olof Tempelman (1745-1816). In 1794 Jacob Rijf was appointed as the provincial master builder of Swedish Västerbotten and soon thereafter he was raised to the position of leading church master builder for the entire province of Finnish Österbotten. As architect, Rijf was largely inspired by Ulrica Eleonora Church and Adolf Fredrik Church in Stockholm. As major proponents of the Swedish Neoclassical style, this family of master- builders was most active at the end of the 18th century when they designed and built stone and timber-framed churches, as well as bell towers, in the Finnish prov- inces of Vaasa and Oulu. They also gained renown as wood-carvers of elaborate pulpits, altarpieces and hymn boards. This study, which belongs to the field of biographical research within art history, focuses on the internal division of labour within the family Rijf, their educational background, and the social networks and personal relationships at work be- hind their most important construction projects. In addition to mapping their oeuvre, this study analyzes the formal and stylistic backgrounds of the church buildings and looks into the conventions governing church founding projects, including formal administrative channels, the factors influencing the selection of master builders, and the process of drawing up construction plans.