In the Spirit of the Times – Akseli Gallen-Kallela

We know Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931) as the illustrator of the Kalevala and a depicter of Finnish identity, but his art and beliefs also reflect the many currents, contradictions, and experiments present during his lifetime.

Anu Utriainen, chief curator at the Ateneum Art Museum, unveils the world of Gallen-Kallela from a new perspective. During his lifetime, Gallen-Kallela was both a visionary and an interpreter of the ideas of his time —interested in nature, symbolism, mysticism, and social change.

This episode transports the viewer beyond his simplistic heroic image, toward an artist who moved in the spirit of the times but also challenged it. What happens when we take a closer look behind Gallen-Kallela’s familiar imagery?

In In the Spirit of the Times, we examine Gallen-Kallela in a broader context—as an artist, a thinker, and someone who embodied the phenomena of his era.

Images:

Akseli Gallen-Kallela: The Kalela Porch, 1900. Finnish National Gallery Collection / Ateneum Art Museum, August and Lydia Keirkner Fine Arts Collection. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Lemminkäinen's Mother, 1897. Finnish National Gallery Collection / Ateneum Art Museum, Antell collections. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Pakarinen

Akseli Gallen-Kallela: The Forging of the Sampo, 1893. Finnish National Gallery Collection / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen