Akseli Gallen-Kallela

One of the most interesting things of traveling in Finland, the Czech Republic and Austria this summer was discovering some new artists that I really liked. I have always had a weakness for painters who mix interesting styles, cover a variety of media and try to say something original and ambitious about their cultures.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela was central to Finland putting a sense of its national identity together in the late 19th century. This is him, near his country house north of Tampere, striking a pose, on skis of course, like a good Finn.

A lot of countries were using national folklore or fictional epics (or combinations of both) to help them create a sense of themselves, what was distinct about their cultures. In Finland, that was the Kalevala, a collection of epic songs that told stories about the legendary heroes of the past. Gallen-Kallela took several of the stories and painted remarkable images of them.

This is a good example, "The Defense of the Sampo." The painting shows a witch attacking some men who have stolen a magic mill called the sampo from her. Like a lot of folklore, it doesn't always make sense. But the imagery, first in song, later in print and then in this painting are very evocative of a heroic past.





One of the things that is the most fun about Gallen-Kallela is that he created interesting art in a number of different media. Here is a stained glass "painting" he created. It hangs in his other, more urban studio/house outside Helsinki.





Another fun example is the way the witch from the sampo painting shows up here in metal as the weather vane at his house, Kalela, north of Tampere. He designed the house as a combination of country house and studio. Amazing place to visit.

Sandy has known about him for years, since Scandinavian national romantic art is one of the things she teaches about. But this was a very exciting discovery for me.


This is his summer house, Kalela. It would be a nice little country house.

It even has a proper wood sauna, on the other side.