The Wounded Angel
Artist: Hugo Simberg (Flemish, 1873–1917)
Date: 1903
Medium: OIl on canvas
Collection: Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
Description
Like other Simberg works, the atmosphere is melancholic: the angelic central figure with her bandaged forehead and bloodied wing, the sombre clothing of her two youthful bearers. The right-hand figure's gaze is fixated beyond and to the right of the viewer.
The procession passes through a recognisable landscape, that of Eläintarha, Helsinki, with Töölönlahti Bay in the background. The same road still skirts Töölönlahti Bay.
In Hugo Simberg's time, the park was a popular spot for leisure-time activities among the working classes. At the time, many charity institutions were located in Eläintarha park; in The Wounded Angel, the healthy boys are carrying the injured girl towards the Blind Girls' School and the Home for Cripples. She clutches a bunch of snowdrops, symbolic of healing and rebirth.
