Capsia was born in
Sweden, the child of Gottfried Capsia and Anna Schultz. She married the priest Jacob Gavelin in
Stockholm in 1719. After the
Great Northern War in 1721 they moved to
Vasa (Vaasa), where Margareta became known as an altarpiece painter in
Ostrobothnia. In 1730, they moved to
Åbo (Turku), where she became a famous artist throughout Finland, and where she eventually died. Her altarpieces were described as individual illustrations of the bible, and she was regarded as one of the best painters in the genre together with
Mikael Toppelius. She painted the altarpieces of a long line of churches, such as in the churches of
Paltamo in 1727 and
Säkylä in 1739. ==References==