Wanha Suomi

Originaalipiirustus Vänrikki Stoolin tarinain kuvitukseen, Albert Edelfelt, Finnish National Gallery

Rantakallio, Eero Järnefelt, 19??, Finnish National Gallery

The Giant Pike, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1904, Finnish National Gallery

Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, and Lemminkäinen boarded a boat and row to Pohjola to restore their share of the Sampo. Suddenly, the boat stopped moving. It was stuck on a giant pike which Väinämöinen then sliced in two with his sword. The tail-end of the pike sank in the sea, but Väinämöinen caught its large head in the boat. He took the head to the shore and used its jawbones and teeth to make a harp. He used the tail of Lempo’s stallion as the strings. The finished harp had an immensely beautiful sound, but only when played by Väinämöinen.

Karvalakkipäinen poika, Eero Järnefelt, Finnish National Gallery

Day in March, Pekka Halonen, 20??, Finnish National Gallery

Kiskot, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1897, Finnish National Gallery

Originaalipiirustus Vänrikki Stoolin tarinain kuvitukseen, Albert Edelfelt, Finnish National Gallery

Talvihämärä, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1897, Finnish National Gallery

The Poor Devil by the Fire ; The Devil by the Pot, Hugo Simberg, 1897, Finnish National Gallery

The Garden of Death ; In the Garden of Death, Hugo Simberg, 1897, Finnish National Gallery

Haukipudas Church, Oulu, Finland

Flower Girl, Aukusti Uotila, 1885, Finnish National Gallery

Winter, study for the Juselius Mausoleum frescoes, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1902, Finnish National Gallery

Self-Portrait, Juho Salminen, 1934, Finnish National Gallery

Pond Water Crowfoot ; Pond Weed, Eero Järnefelt, 19??, Finnish National Gallery

The Kalela Porch, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1900, Finnish National Gallery

The Artist’s Mother, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 19??, Nationalmuseum, SWE

This is the artist’s mother in a remarkable, enigmatic portrait. Intimate and monumental at the same time. On the one hand a spitting image, on the other a sculpture in a dreamlike landscape seemingly situated beyond time and space. The portrait is dated 1896, the year before Akseli Gallen-Kallela cast her as the main figure in one of his most famous paintings, Lemminkäinen’s Mother – a motif inspired by Finland’s national epic, Kalevala.