"Lemminkäinens Moder"
Signed and dated in the plate. Signed Gallen Kallela in pencil. Line etching and drypoint, 1905. P. 14.3 x 18 cm.
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The etching "Lemminkäinen's Mother" is executed after the painting of the same title from 1897, in the collections of the Ateneum in Helsinki. Gallen-Kallela painted several works with motifs from the Finnish national epic Kalevala. "Lemminkäinen's Mother" depicts the poignant scene where Lemminkäinen has died, been dismembered, and thrown into the dark river leading to the underworld Tuonela. His mother faithfully gathers his body parts, stitches the body together, and lifts her gaze to the heavens in hope that a bee will come with healing honey from the god Ukko and restore her son to life. The motif has been likened to Christian Pietà representations.
More about Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Akseli Gallen-Kallela is counted among Finland's most famous artists, born in 1865 in Pori. He studied at the Drawing School of the Finnish Art Society in Helsinki and later at the Académie Julian in Paris. He worked across various art forms such as painting, graphics, illustrations, textiles, architecture, and even designed military uniforms. Akseli Gallen-Kallela's first significant work, 'Old Woman with a Cat,' challenged the ideals of its time and paved the way for realism in Finnish painting.
Gallen-Kallela was primarily known for his paintings and illustrations for the Finnish national epic, 'Kalevala.' In 1900, he executed dome paintings with Kalevala motifs for the Finnish pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris. His visual language is often described as naturalistic, symbolic, and expressionistic
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