Nordic Art History in the Making
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Issue No. 6/20161/2017 FromNordic a ArtYoung History Genius in the to Making: a Monument Carl Gustaf Estlander and Tidskrift för Bildande Konst och Riitta Ojanperä KonstindustriPhD, Director, Collections 1875–1876 Management, Finnish National Gallery Susanna Pettersson // PhD, Director, Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery First published in Hanna-Leena Paloposki (ed.), Sibelius and the World of Art. Ateneum Publications Vol. 70. Helsinki: Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum, 2014, First13─61. published in Renja Suominen-Kokkonen (ed.), The Challenges of Biographical Research in Art History Today. Taidehistoriallisia tutkimuksia (Studies in Art History) 46. Helsinki: Taidehistorian seura (The Society for Art History in Finland), 64–73, 2013 __________ We all know what the composer Jean Sibelius looks like. He is elderly, with penetrating eyes, his mouth closed in a stern line. He is bald and – if we can see more than his face ─ he sits in an armchair… “så andlänge smokes vi på våra cigar. sida Thegöra image allt hvad is very i vår much magt a stårcliché. – den It is mår also vara quite hur possible ringa that this is nosom longer helst the – för figure att skapa many ettFinns konstorgan, see in their värdigt minds vårt– the lands prevalence och vår oftids such fordringar. images is very muchStockholm bound ito December culture and 1874. generation. Redaktionen” It is . nevertheless(‘… as long as quite we dolikely everything that such we an can image of Sibelius– however is shared little by thosethat ofmay us be who – to were create born an beforeart body the that 1970s, is worth who the received claims a ofschool our educationcountries founded and onof ourearly time. 20th-century From the unified Editorial culture staff, –Stockholm, our minds imprintedDecember not1874.’) only1 with the image of the stern national composer, but also with the Finlandia Hymn and the Song of the Athenians – and who in primary school groped for the notes of Andante Festivo in the ranksThese ofwords the schoolwere addressed orchestra. to the readers of the first issue of the brand new art journal TidskriftThe för assumption bildande konst of aoch widely konstindustri held visual (Journal image of requires Fine Arts at and least Arts that and we Crafts) know publishedwho Sibeliusin Stockholm is. The over composer two years has in been 1875–1876. on the listOne of of the the most founding famous members Finns for of decades,the journal although was the Finnishbasis of academic his recognition and cultural is undoubtedly activist Carl different Gustaf Estlanderin Finland (1834–1910), than elsewhere. whose In Finland,professional Sibelius’sambitions peers fit havewell into comprised the picture. both the most prominent statesmen and the most prestigious representativesI will argue ofthat art Tidskriftand culture. för bildandeThe Finnish konst adage och konstindustri ‘Sibelius, sauna provided and thesisu’ Nordic carries editors the nameof the journalof Sibelius with everywhere a platform tothat manifest the deepest their concept perceived of artvalues history. and They everyday developed experiences a method of Finnishnessof communicating are discussed. the contents1 through a specific set of articles. The journal was a perfect 19th- centuryThe example popular of arecognition project showcasing of Sibelius the shows development no sign ofof adeclining. profession In in2013, the makingthe Finnish and the Culturaluse of professional Foundation networks. conducted For Estlander,an extensive this Gallupwas a gatewaypoll on the to thekind Nordic of art andFinns North find European appealing. 2 Theart-historical result shows discourse, that the and appreciation strengthened ofhis Sibelius position is virtuallyas the leading unrivalled, Finnish insofar art historian as age, ofeducation his time. and domicile in Finland made hardly any difference in the overall positive result.3 Dynamic challenger 1 ‘Sibelius, sauna and sisu’ is used as an idiomatic compound. Its reference is to the cultural In thedetermination early 1870s, Estlanderof Finnish identity,was in his sometimes forties. He used had ironically. published Examples: his first in majorpopular art culture, history the chart hit of the Kivikasvot ensemble entitled Made in Finland (Tankeros love) 1975; in an academic book, De bildande konsternas historia (History of the Fine Arts), in 1867. He taught aesthetics context, the title of a seminar ‘Sibelius, sauna ja sisu! Suomen maakuvan historiaa’ (‘Sibelius, sauna and literatureand sisu! History at the ofUniversity the Finnish of nationalHelsinki, image’), Finland. UniversityHe was theof Helsinkisecretary 16 ofApril the 2009, Finnish or the Art title Society,of a becoming thesis Sauna, its sisuchair ja in Sibelius. 1878. JeanHe was Sibeliuksen also a founding konstruoidun member säveltäjäkuvan of the Society muodostuminen for Arts and Crafts.musiikkikirjallisuudessa He brought art into (‘Sauna,public sisudebate and bySibelius. publishing The formation newspaper of thearticles constructed and wasimage one of of Jean the foundersSibelius of thein music Finnish literature’), newspaper Lantto Helsingfors 2013. Dagblad (1862). He also founded a Finnish art journal2 Study called commissioned Finsk Tidskrift by the (Finnish Finnish Journal) Cultural Foundationin 1876.2 Suomalaisten näkemykset kulttuurista. Vaikuttuneisuus taiteilijoista ja tyylisuunnista (‘Finnish Views on and Engagement in Culture and the Arts’). The survey questions related to 32 pre-selected artists. 1 Tidskrift för bildande konst och konstindustri 1875. Stockholm: C. E. Fritze’s Bokhandel, VIII. 3 Suomalaisten näkemykset kulttuurista. Vaikuttuneisuus taiteilijoista ja tyylisuunnista, 35. 2 Pettersson, Susanna, 2008,Suomen Taideyhdistyksestä Ateneumiin. Fredrik Cygnaeus, Carl Gustaf Estlander ja taidekokoelman roolit. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 183–87. 2 From a Young Genius to a Monument // Riitta Ojanperä --- FNG Research Issue No. 1/2017. Publisher: Finnish National Gallery, Kaivokatu 2, FI-00100 Helsinki, FINLAND. © All rights reserved by the author and the publisher. Originally published in https://research.fng.fi Reino Harsti, Master (Jean Sibelius), 1963 drypoint, 31 x 23cm Finnish National Gallery/ Ateneum Art Museum Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Yehia Eweis The survey suggests that while traditional cultural heavyweights remain strong, the top four – Jean Sibelius, Tove Jansson, Väinö Linna and Juice Leskinen – encompass a wide spectrum of artforms and artist’s ages.4 Portraits on the Nation’s Mantelpiece Shared notions regarding the physical appearance of those people who belong to the cultural canon are founded on the dissemination of popular images, primarily in the media and in textbooks. On the other hand, visual art in general and public art in particular – memorials 4 Press release of the Finnish Cultural Foundation 2013: ‘Tutkimus: Tunnetuimmat taiteilijamme ovat Jean Sibelius, Tove Jansson, Väinö Linna ja Juice Leskinen’ (‘Study shows our most famous artists are Jean Sibelius, Tove Jansson, Väinö Linna and Juice Leskinen’). 3 From a Young Genius to a Monument // Riitta Ojanperä --- FNG Research Issue No. 1/2017. Publisher: Finnish National Gallery, Kaivokatu 2, FI-00100 Helsinki, FINLAND. © All rights reserved by the author and the publisher. Originally published in https://research.fng.fi of great men and women – imprint the collective memory with images of people of note by the authority of high art.5 Owing to the pictorial representations thus produced, many Finns ‘know’ what the national writer Aleksis Kivi looked like, although not a single photograph or live drawing of the author exists from his lifetime. We also know what Väinämöinen looked like, although the mythical hero of Kalevala never existed in reality. The popular idea of the physical appearance of author Aleksis Kivi was established by the memorial created by the sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen, erected in the centre of Helsinki in the 1930s.6 In its day, the project triggered a debate about the writer’s appearance, matched only by the public outcry and surge of public opinion triggered by the Sibelius Monument in the early 1960s. As regards Väinämöinen, the paintings of him and other Kalevala figures created by Akseli Gallen-Kallela remain for many the only correct likenesses of the mythic characters of the epic.7 In the course of the 20th century, the interest of artists in creating portraits through public or private commission or because of their own interest has fluctuated. Portraiture has produced a great many works that stand the test of time, although the grand narrative of the 20th century has emphasised the primacy of abstract art, of art liberated from the mimetic subject. Examining portraits of Sibelius, one should bear in mind that the first decades of Finnish independence were a golden age of portraits, sculptural portraits in particular. Finnish national identity was not constructed solely through public art, but also through the production of a significant number of portraits of cultural as well as business celebrities. It was quite common for wealthy individuals to commission portraits of their family, often of children as well. Portraits conveyed a sense of propriety and togetherness, the very best aspects of the Finnish national character. Appraisals of head portraits in art publications often referred to idealistic aspirations and cultural values. For Finnish sculptors, of course, the popularity of head portraits meant much-needed work opportunities.8 Produced