Celebrating the highpoint of Finnish art, when the country was still a Grand Duchy of Russia, the exhibition will feature some 75 works which show a mix of native influences with international styles.
Paris, the artistic centre of late nineteenth-century Europe, had a profound impact on Finnish artists, most notably Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) and Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931). Finnish landscape painting will be represented by, among others, Eero Järnefelt (1863-1937), and Väinö Blomstedt (1871-1947), who captured the country's distinctive forests, lakes and rivers in a uniquely heroic and symbolic manner.
The exhibition will also demonstrate how artists depicted legends and myths, with a particular emphasis on the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. Finland's celebrated pavilion at the World Fair in Paris in 1900 will be documented with works by Pekka Halonen (1865-1933) and Juho Rissanen (1873-1950), which were purposely painted for this landmark occasion. The final part of the exhibition will present an overview of the various trends of early twentieth-century Modernism in Finland, including works from the Septem Group (Magnus Enckell, Yrjö Ollila, Ellen Thesleff and Verner Thomé) and the November Group (Tyko Sallinen, Marcus Collin and Alvar Cawén). |
