Lennart Segerstråle

”Atoning the World” depicts a landscape of the soul, a meeting of the light and dark in a person. In the colourful mandorla in the middle, we see Christ with arms opened wide. On the left side, the light side, people have turned their faces to Christ in expectation of guidance and change in their lives. In the dark, on the right side, the large cross leans over the lost souls as if about to crush them, but there are also those who reach out to Christ through the dark, hoping for help. Beneath the figure of Christ are a brightly lit couple, the born again man and woman.
Lennart Segerstråle painted many versions of this ”Atoning the World” theme. He also used parts of the theme for his frescoes and oilpaintings. With this work Segerstråle participated in a competition for fresco altarpieces in Denmark and won seconds price. He later donated the work to The Finnish Federation of Settlement Houses and eventually it was placed in the Kalliola Clinic.