Finnish art
An independent Finnish art did not develop until the 19th century, after modest beginnings in sacred art of the Middle Ages, of which wall paintings in the churches of that time are evidence. The painting and sculpture now broke away from dependence on Sweden , had heard for centuries to Finland, and developed an international level. In particular, the period between 1880 and 1910, when artists such as the painters Albert Edelfelt , Akseli Gallen-Kallela , Eero Järnefelt , Pekka Halonen , Magnus Enckell , Hugo Simberg and Helene Schjerfbeck or the sculptor Ville Vallgren worked, is considered to be the “golden age of the Finnish Art". Finnish design gained international fame thanks to Alvar Aalto's designs from the 1930s and the successes of Finnish designers in the 1950s.
painting
Middle Ages and Renaissance (13th to 16th centuries)
Finnish art in the Middle Ages was sacred in nature. Secco paintings have been preserved in around 40 of the stone churches from that era . With the exception of the artistically more valuable early Gothic decorations in the Åland churches from around 1300, these are largely to be assessed as primitive. The first Finnish artist known by name is Petrus Henriksson , who came to Finland at the instigation of Bishop Konrad Bitz from Sweden and painted the church of Kalanti around 1470 . Well-preserved examples of Finnish late Gothic art are the frescoes in the churches of Lohja and Rymättylä from the 16th century. After the Reformation under King Gustav I Wasa , the heyday of sacred art ended and the Renaissance style reached Finland at the same time . Even after the Reformation, churches were decorated with wall paintings. Examples can be found in the frescoes of the church of Isokyrö (1560) and in the works of Christian Willebrandt (1637–1677), who decorated several Ostrobothnian churches.
Baroque and Classicism (17th and 18th centuries)
The beginning of the Swedish great power era in the 17th century was dominated by the Baroque . The portraits commissioned by the Finnish nobility testify to the painting of the Baroque period . The first portrait painter in Finland was the German Joachim Neiman (approx. 1602–1673), who worked in Turku from 1631 . The best-known Finnish artist of the 17th century was the miniature painter Elias Brenner (1647–1717). Church painting experienced a renewed upswing in the 18th century, for example through the altar panels by the first Finnish painter Margareta Capsia (1682–1759) or the works of Johan Backman (1706–1768), Mikael Toppelius (1734–1821 ), which were influenced by Dutch painting ) and Emanuel Granberg (1754–1787) is represented. In the second half of the 18th century, Gustavian classicism replaced the late baroque.
Russian rule (19th century)
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Even after Finland became part of Russia in 1809 , painting initially remained under the influence of Sweden , to which Finland had belonged for centuries. The founding of the Finnish Art Association in 1846 and its drawing school in Helsinki in 1848 laid the foundation for the independent development of Finnish painting. At the same time, under the influence of the developing Finnish national consciousness, Finnish art began to take on a patriotic character. Artists like Robert Wilhelm Ekman (1808–1873) drew their inspiration from the national epic Kalevala and created a genre painting that was supposed to highlight the special characteristics of the Finnish people.
In the beginning, 19th century Finnish artists were often under German influence. The works of the brothers Magnus (1805–1868), Wilhelm (1810–1887) and Ferdinand von Wright (1822–1906) are based on the Biedermeier style . The landscape painter Werner Holmberg (1830-1860) studied on a scholarship from the Finnish Art Association at the Düsseldorf Art Academy . Fanny Churberg (1845–1892) received the same training , whose landscapes with their powerful colors were already approaching Expressionism .
The "golden age" (1880 to 1910)
The “golden age” of Finnish art is the period between 1880 and 1910, when Finland first produced artists who also became known across national borders. Politically, this period was marked by Russification efforts on the part of the Russian tsars and the striving for a Finnish national identity, which is reflected in the art turn to Finnish national themes.
The Finnish painters now drew their influences from Paris instead of Düsseldorf . A Scandinavian artist colony worked there, including Albert Edelfelt (1854–1905), who was the first Finnish artist to receive international recognition, and Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931). Edelfelt and Gallen-Kallela introduced realism into Finnish painting. Eero Järnefelt (1863–1937) and Juho Rissanen (1873–1950) depicted Finnish folk life in their paintings, while Pekka Halonen (1865–1933) is best known for his wintry landscapes. Quite a few of the artists of the “golden age” were women. One of the best-known Finnish artists is Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946), whose abstract paintings approached modernism early on . Another important painter is Ellen Thesleff , a pioneer of modernism, whose work ranges from Expressionism, Impressionism to Symbolism and early abstraction.
Towards the end of the century a Finnish national line became predominant in the choice of topics. Akseli Gallen-Kallela devoted himself to the Kalevala in the spirit of national romanticism . His works on the Finnish national epic such as the Aino triptych (1891, two versions), The Defense of Sampo (1895), Joukahainen's Revenge , Lemminkäinen's Mother (both 1897) and Kullervo's Curse (1899) shape the visual image of the Kalevala and make it to this day Gallen-Kallela probably the most famous Finnish artist. The enthusiasm for Kalevala and its place of origin Karelia manifested itself in a trend known as Karelianism : In the 1890s painters such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Eero Järnefelt, as well as the writers Juhani Aho and Eino Leino or the composer Jean Sibelius, made trips to Karelia, which was seen as a refuge of a primeval, unadulterated Finnism.
Magnus Enckell (1870–1925) became acquainted with symbolism during his stay in Paris and introduced this style in Finland. Other important representatives of Symbolism who were active around the turn of the century are Ellen Thesleff (1869–1954) and Hugo Simberg (1873–1917). Akseli Gallen-Kallela, whose early work can still be attributed to realism, later turned to symbolism.
Modern
As early as the 1880s, some Finnish painters, such as Victor Westerholm (1860–1919), turned to Impressionism . The pointillism represented around the turn of the century Alfred William Finch (1854 to 1930). For the most part, Finnish art remained trapped in national romanticism in the early 20th century, before the Septem group around Magnus Enckell, Yrjö Ollila (1887–1932) and Verner Thomé (1878–1953), founded in 1910 and influenced by post-impressionism , the era of Heralded modernity in Finnish art history. The November group , founded in 1916 and including artists such as Tyko Sallinen (1879–1955), Ilmari Aalto (1891–1934), Alvar Cawén (1886–1935) and Ragnar Ekelund (1892–1960), turned to Expressionism .
Painters such as Väinö Kunnas (1896–1929) and Einari Vehmas (1898–1955) were close to the group of writers Tulenkantajat (“ Fire Bearers ”) and introduced the ideas of New Objectivity to Finnish art in the 1920s . In the 1930s Otto Mäkilä (1904–1955) and Birger Carlstedt (1907–1975) were under the influence of André Lhotes . In the period after the Second World War, artists such as Aimo Kanerva (1899–1958), Yrjö Saarinen (1899–1958) and Åke Mattas (1920–1962) represented a new expressionism, Lars-Gunnar Nordström (* 1924), Unto Pusa (1913 –1973) and Sam Vanni (1908–1994) used constructivism .
With the arrival of informal art , Finnish art experienced a radical change. Jaakko Sievänen (* 1933) and Esko Tirronen (* 1932) represented this style . Artists such as Kauko Lehtinen (* 1925), Juhani Harri (* 1939) and Harro Koski (* 1945) introduced completely new forms of art with material and object art. Juhana Blomstedt (* 1937) and Matti Kujasalo (* 1945) are among the most important constructivists of modern Finnish art . At the beginning of the 1980s, a neo-expressionist movement emerged, to which Marjatta Tapiola (* 1951), Leena Luostarinen (* 1949), Marika Mäkelä (* 1947) and Silja Rantanen (* 1955) belong. The most important Finnish artists of the 1990s include Maaria Wirkkala (* 1954), Marita Liulia (* 1957) and Henrietta Lehtonen (* 1965).
sculpture
Over 800 sculptures, mostly wooden figures of saints, have survived from the Middle Ages . However, these are largely imported goods from Gotland or Northern Germany . The first known Finnish sculptor is the so-called " Master of Lieto ", who worked in Turku around 1320-1350. In the centuries after the Reformation, tombs of the nobility testify to sculpture in Finland.
The beginning of Finnish sculpture in the true sense of the word is formed by six classicist plaster reliefs by Erik Cainberg (1771–1816), a student of the Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel , which can be found in the auditorium of the Turku Academy . Carl Eneas Sjöstrand (1828–1906) is considered the “father of Finnish sculpture” . The first statue to be erected outdoors in Finland was made by him: a statue of the humanist Henrik Gabriel Porthan in Turku. The first successful Finnish sculptor was Walter Runeberg (1838–1885), who designed, among other things, the statue of his father, the national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg , in Helsinki's Esplanadi Park, and the statue of Alexander II designed by Johannes Takanen (1849–1885) . completed on the Senate Square . The first women sculptors in Finland were Aline Forsman (1845–1899) and Eveliina Särkelä (1847–1949). Ville Valgren (1855–1940) was the first Finnish sculptor who became known abroad with his small art nouveau sculptures . His best known work is the statue of Havis Amanda on the edge of the market square in Helsinki. When it was unveiled in 1905, naked beauty was the subject of controversy, and today it plays a central role in the celebrations on May Day Vappu . Like Valgren's works, Sigrid af Forselles (1860–1935), who created the reliefs in the church of Kallio , was influenced by symbolism. The style of Robert Stigell (1852–1907), Emil Wikström (1864–1942) and Eemil Halonen (1875–1950), on the other hand, is strictly realistic. The shipwrecked monument (1891–1898) was designed by Stigell , and Wikström designed the tympanum on the Ständehaus and the monument to Elias Lönnrot in Helsinki.
Ville Valgren: " Havis Amanda " (1905)
Emil Wikström: "Lantern Bearer " ( Lyhdynkantajat ), Figures at Helsinki Central Station (1914)
Felix Nylund: " Three Blacksmiths " (1932)
Eila Hiltunen: Sibelius Monument (1967)
The best-known work by Felix Nylund (1878–1940) is the sculpture Drei Schmiede (1932) in Helsinki. Nylund also represents neoclassicism like Gunnar Finne (1886–1952) and Viktor Jansson (1886–1958). The statue of Paavo Nurmi in front of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (1924–1925) and the Aleksis Kivi monument in front of the National Theater (1930–1939) were made by Wäinö Aaltonen (1894–1966), the most important Finnish sculptor of the 1920s and 1930s . As with Aaltonen, monumental and heroic themes dominate the works of Oskari Jauhiainen (1913–1990) and Aimo Tukiainen (1917–1996) from the time of the Second World War.
In the 1950s and 1960s a new generation of sculptors emerged, whose representatives turned to modernism. At that time there was heated debate about the design of public monuments. While the equestrian statue of Marshal Mannerheims (1960) designed by Aimo Tukiainen was in the traditional style, the sculptress Eila Hiltunen (1922–2003) won the competition for a memorial for the composer Jean Sibelius with an abstract sculpture. Despite strong public criticism at the time, her Sibelius Monument (1967) is now one of Helsinki's most important sights. Other pioneers of abstract sculpture in Finland were Raimo Utriainen (1927–1994), Harry Kivijärvi (* 1931), Mauno Hartman (* 1930) and Kain Tapper (1930–2004). The latter is best known for its wooden sculptures. The most famous sculptors of the 1990s include Ukri Merikanto (* 1950), Hannu Sirén (* 1953) and Matti Peltokangas (born 1952).
design
Finnish design began with the emergence of industrial consumer goods manufacturing in the late 19th century. The School of Applied Arts, the predecessor of today's University of Art and Design in Helsinki, opened in 1871 and trained specialists in this field for the first time. The Arabia ceramics company was founded in 1874, and the Iittala glass factory in 1881 . Both companies later became important producers of Finnish design goods.
In the first half of the 20th century, Finnish visual artists and architects began designing objects alongside professional designers. Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) worked as a designer from the 1930s. The best-known of his functionalist design works include various pieces of furniture, most notably the three-legged stool from 1933 and the Savoy vase (1936). In 1935, Alvar Aalto founded the Artek company with his wife Aino , the art critic Nils-Gustav Hahl and the patron Maire Gullichsen , which sold the furniture designed by Aalto.
In the 1950s, Finnish designers such as Tapio Wirkkala (1915–1985), Timo Sarpaneva (1926–2006) and Kaj Franck (1911–1989) were successful at the Milan Triennials . These exhibitions helped Finnish design gain the international reputation it still enjoys today. In addition to the glass and ceramics industry, textile manufacturers such as Marimekko also began to invest in shaping. Many of the classics of this time such as Franck's ceramic tableware series Kilta (1953, today marketed under the name Teema ), the i- glasses designed by Sarpaneva for the Iittala company, or Wirkkalas Finlandia vodka bottles (1978) are still produced today and have their permanent place in everyday Finnish culture. Eero Aarnio's furniture is typical of modernism in the 1960s and has been used in science fiction films because of its futuristic appearance.
literature
- Finnish art . In: Harald Olbrich (Ed.): Lexicon of Art. Architecture, fine arts, applied arts, industrial design, art theory. Volume 2 (Cin - Gree). Revised edition, Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3-423-05906-0 (digital edition: Directmedia Publishing, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-89853-743-8 ).
- Marianne Aav: Design . In: Olli Alho (Hrsg.): Kulturlexikon Finland . Helsinki: Finnish Literary Society, 1998. ISBN 951-717-032-5 . Pp. 58-62.
- Leena Ahtola-Moorehouse: Plastic . In: Olli Alho (Hrsg.): Kulturlexikon Finland . Helsinki: Finnish Literary Society, 1998. ISBN 951-717-032-5 . Pp. 245-248.
- Markku Valkonen: painting . In: Olli Alho (Hrsg.): Kulturlexikon Finland . Helsinki: Finnish Literary Society, 1998. ISBN 951-717-032-5 . Pp. 205-210.