The Magic North: national heritage meets international symbolism

The National Gallery kicks off its 2015 season with an exhibition that focuses on themes such as mythology, existential vulnerability, national identity, and unspoilt nature. “The Magic North” features nineteenth-century fin-de-siècle highlights from the collections of the Finnish National Gallery Ateneum and the National Museum. The exhibition has been organized in collaboration with Ateneum and will be shown in Helsinki in summer 2015.

As curator Vibeke Waallann Hansen notes, “It is a unique event that we are allowed to borrow so many highlights from this period in Finnish art history from Ateneum.”

A dialogue between national heritage and international symbolism
“The Magic North: Finnish and Norwegian Art around 1900” highlights parallels between Finnish and Norwegian art within the framework of European symbolism. The juxtaposition of Norwegian and Finnish art from around 1900 is interesting in light of the political and cultural-historical similarities between the two countries. Another heavy influence on the Finnish and Norwegian art of the period was symbolism, which helped establish a dialogue between the respective national heritages and the international ideas of that movement.

Finland’s national painting
Exhibition highlights include Wounded Angel by the Finnish painter Hugo Simberg. This work has been designated Finland’s “national painting” and is rarely sent on loan. Susanna Pettersson, director at Ateneum, has this to say about the collaboration with the National Museum:

“We hope the exhibition will give the public a fresh experience, and that it can illuminate parallels between Norwegian and Finnish visual art.”

Rendezvousing in the art centres of Europe
Because of the countries’ geographical location on the outskirts of Europe, cities such as Berlin and Paris became important meeting spots for Finnish and Norwegian artists during this time. In Berlin, for example, Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Edvard Munch held exhibitions at the same time in 1895 and at the same premises.

Folkloristic discoveries in Karelia and Telemark
The artists brought home with them the ideas and concepts of European symbolism. In Finland and Norway they sought out the distinctly national elements of the folklore and landscapes of their home countries. They journeyed to selected regions in order to come into contact with primeval Finnish and Norwegian culture, which they found in regions such as Karelia and Telemark. Winter landscapes would subsequently become a unique characteristic of Finnish and Norwegian art, and were regarded as exotic by the European public.

Thematically organized rooms
The exhibition is set up according to six thematic rooms: Folk Culture and Traditions; Artist Portraits: The Insightful Seer; Landscape as a State of Mind; National Mythology; Fantasy and Mythology;and Existential Vulnerability.

The artists
The following artists are represented: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Helene Schjerfbeck, Magnus Enckell, Hugo Simberg, Ellen Thesleff, Pekka Halonen, Elin Danielson-Gambogi, Vainö Blomstedt, Beda Stjernschantz, Joseph Alanen, Edvard Munch, Harald Sohlberg, Gustav Vigeland, Christian Skredsvig, Theodor Kittelsen, Halfdan Egedius, Oluf Wold-Torne, Thorvald Erichsen, Nikolai Astrup, Helene Vosgraff, Lars Jorde, and Gerhard Munthe.

Programme of events
The exhibition includes an extensive programme of events, such as an evening of Finnish culture, a concert with the Oslo Chamber Orchestra, seminars, and a series of theme-based guided tours. The programme is available at http://.bit.ly/1uHkBIw

The exhibition “The Magic North: Finnish and Norwegian Art around 1900” will be on display at the National Gallery from 30 January to 16 May 2015. The curator for the exhibition is Vibeke Waallann Hansen.

Further details:
 Eva Engeset, press contact National Museum: eva.engeset@nasjonalmuseet.no / tel.: +0047 469 50 102.
Johanna Eiramo, Communications manager Ateneum, johanna.eiramo@ateneum.fi / tel.: +0035 840 0995 699.