Lake Keitele : Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Regular price £14.95'a vivid reminder of Gallen-Kallela’s skill' - Culture Whisper
The richly illustrated companion book to an exhibition at the National Gallery exploring Akseli Gallen-Kallela's depictions of Lake Keitele
In 1999, Akseli Gallen-Kallela's 'Lake Keitele' (1905) became the first Finnish painting to enter the National Gallery and is now one of the most popular pictures in the collection. Although the artist and his work are relatively unknown to audiences outside of Finland, he was not only a leading figure in modern Finnish painting but an accomplished practitioner of the decorative arts and a key figure in the development of early twentieth-century Modernism.
This book focuses on four versions of his shimmering depictions of Lake Keitele, north of Helsinki; a stylised lake composition which first appeared in the early 1880s, when the artist was still elaborating his own descriptive language, and continued to preoccupy him until well into the 1920s. Anne Robbins examines these abstract and modernist pictures in the light of the international avant gardes with which Gallen-Kallela was in contact for much of his career, and the ways in which his work expressed his fervent Finnish nationalism.
Details
- Author: Anne Robbins, associate curator of post-1800 paintings at the National Gallery, London.
- Hardcover: 72 pages | 35 colour and black and white illustrations
- Date published: November 2017
- Language: English
- Delivery: Allow 1-2 weeks
- ISBN: 978-1857096248
- Product Dimensions: 26.7 x 24.1 cm
Reviews
'four studies of Lake Keitele are the centrepiece of this stunning show, but there are a dozen other paintings which compliment this quartet – some fine examples of Gallen-Kallela’s early work, and some of the other lake and forest pictures he painted thereafter (the woods and waters of his native land were his lifelong fascination). It’s all contained in a single room. Admission is free. Even if you’ve only got a few minutes to spare, do drop in and take a look – it’s a wonderful respite from the workaday world outside' - Spectator
'a vivid reminder of Gallen-Kallela’s skill' - Culture Whisper
