AKSELI GALLEN-KALLELA
THE SPIRIT OF FINLAND
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) is regarded as one of the most outstanding Nordic painters. His work played a major part in the development of art in his native Finland and in the shaping of Finnish identity as, during his lifetime, Finland gained its independence and gradually its own cultural voice came to be heard and recognized. This exceptional artist, who worked in many different genres and media, can rightly be called a 'Renaissance Man'. His works include paintings, drawings and graphic designs inspired by the Finnish epic, the Kalevala as well as key images picturing the Finnish landscape and its inhabitants.
In addition he created a wealth of portraits depicting his family and friends and made designs for commercial ephemera, flags, medals and currency. Furthermore, he twice designed and built his own studio-houses, and was active in the fields of furniture design and other forms of applied and decorative art, such as textiles. This publication provides an extensive overview of his many-facetted oeuvre, ranging through his realistic portrayal of life in the Finnish countryside, the unspoilt landscape, his thought-provoking portraits, to his remarkable illustrations of the Kalevala epic.