Description

Lake Keitele, 2017

The ‘Northern Lights’ exhibition focuses on 74 landscape paintings by artists from Scandinavia and Canada created between 1888 and 1937, including masterpieces by Hilma af Klint and Edvard Munch. They all share the boreal forest as a common source of inspiration. The seemingly immeasurable forests, the radiant light of the seemingly endless days in summer, the long nights in winter and natural phenomena such as the Northern Lights have given rise to their own modern Nordic painting, which still exerts a special attraction and fascination today.

The Fondation Beyeler is expanding its edition portfolio with ‘Lake Keitele’ ( 2017), a printed adaptation of the landscape painting of the same name by Akseli Gallen-Kallela from 1905. The painting is part of a series of artworks depicting the Finnish landscape and now hangs in the National Gallery in London.

In ‘Lake Keitele’, Gallen-Kallela combined a tranquil contemplation of nature with his fascination for ancient national myths, which he linked to contemporary political struggles. The peaceful image of the lake, untouched by human activity, reflects the symbolic and emotional striving for independence and freedom.