Golden Age of Finnish Art
The Golden Age of Finnish Art coincided with the national awakening of Finland during the era of the Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire. It is considered to generally span from near the end of the 19th century and to the beginning of the 20th century, roughly 1880-1910. Themes during the period were often influenced by Kalevala and were visible in visual arts, literature, music and architecture of the time, although the term is most commonly used to refer to the wave of realist and national romantic painters of the time. Central figure of the time was Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Other notable figures were Pekka Halonen, Albert Edelfelt, Jean Sibelius, Eino Leino, Helene Schjerfbeck, Eero Järnefelt, Emil Wikström and Eliel Saarinen.
Finnish art became known in Europe at the Paris 1900 World Fair, where the Finnish pavilion was one of the most popular ones.
Artists
The following are notable visual artists considered to have been part of the Golden Age of Finnish Art.Painters
The following listing of painters doesn't include artists who are sometimes considered to be part of the Golden Age but generally largely predate it such as Werner Holmberg and even one of the most notable Finnish artists of the era such as Ferdinand von Wright whose 1886 The Fighting Capercaillies is considered one of the seminal Finnish paintings. In addition to Holmberg there are other mainly Düsseldorf school of painting landscape painters such as Berndt Lindholm, Hjalmar Munsterhjelm and Fanny Churberg whose latter work can be called part of the Golden Age, but for the sake of brevity they're not included here as they may be associated with the earlier era. Adolf von Becker was an important figure to the Golden Age by how many of the Golden Age artists he personally taught and instructed in their paths. Robert Wilhelm Ekman was also an early influential painter of Kalevala.| Artist | Notable work |
Amélie Lundahl | Girl in a Leaf Forest, early 1880s |
Maria Wiik | Out into the World, 1889 |
Albert Edelfelt | ', 1879 |
Gunnar Berndtson | ', 1893 |
Anna Sahlstén | Bread Worries, 1895 |
Victor Westerholm | ', 1885 |
Elin Danielson-Gambogi | Mother, 1893 |
Helene Schjerfbeck | ', 1888 |
Eero Järnefelt | ', 1893 |
Akseli Gallen-Kallela | Lemminkäinen's Mother, 1897 |
Pekka Halonen | ', 1891 |
Ellen Thesleff | Self-Portrait, 1895 |
Magnus Enckell | Resurrection, Tampere Cathedral, 1907 |
Dora Wahlroos | By the Wash Basin, 1892 |
Hugo Simberg | The Wounded Angel, 1903 |
Sculptors
| Artist | Notable work |
Ville Vallgren | Havis Amanda, 1908 |
Emil Wikström | , 1914 |
Architects
| Artist | Notable work |
Lars Sonck | Tampere Cathedral, 1907 |
Wivi Lönn | :fi:Tampereen keskuspaloasema|Tampere Central Fire Station, 1908 |
Eliel Saarinen | Helsinki Central railway station, 1909 |
Herman Gesellius | Wuorio House, 1909–1914 |
Armas Lindgren | Mannerheimintie 7, 1914 |