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A PICTURE OF THE DEDICATION OF ÅBO/TURKU UNIVERSITY IN THE SCANDINAVIAN CENTER A large picture donated November 17, 2000, by the Gustav #175 Vasa Order of America, hangs at the Scandinavian Cultural Center in Thousand Oaks. It is a print from a lithograph made in 1908 by Count Louis Sparre (1863-1964), close friend of Askeli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), Finland’s extraordinary illustrator of the epic, the Kalevala. Sparre began as a painter, but he is best known for his graphic art, having been commissioned to illustrate The Elk Hunters by Finland’s national poet, J. L. Runeberg, in 1892. But, his work in the whole range of arts and crafts has raised him to the rank, along with Gallen-Kallela, as the co-founder of modern Finnish design. The picture was made by Sparre of a mural painted by Albert Edelfelt (1854- 1905) in 1904 on a wall between four, attached, Greek columns with Corinthian capitals. Edelfelt was of a cultured, aristocratic family of Swedish descent, who trained under the Finnish artists Adolf von Becker (1854-1905) and Berndt Lindholm (1841-1914), before going to study in Paris. He received gold medals at the Salons of 1880 (3rd Class), 1882 (2nd Class), and the Grand Prix d’honneur at the Paris World Exhibition of 1889. His portrait of Louis Pasteur was purchased by the French State, a distinction no previous Finnish artist had achieved. During the 1870’s, Edelfelt’s paintings were of romanticized episodes of Finish history, but, later in that decade and during the next, he preferred Naturalism, the school of “scientific” objectivity in depicting the natural world and everyday life. He was known for his oil portraits, but, especially, his depictions of Finnish countryside and people, even translating Biblical scenes to naturalistic Finnish environments. His one, great mural painting, the one reproduced in the print in the Cultural Center, was completed at the end of his life. In this painting, Edelfelt returns to an event significant in the history of Finland. The theme is revealed left, below the painting, in an inscription in Finnish which says: Turun Yliopiston Vihkiäs- Juhla Vuonna 1640 This is repeated in Swedish on the right hand side: Åbo Akademis Invigning Är 1640 Thus, the picture is a celebration of the dedication of the University of Åbo (Swedish name), or, Turku (later, the Finnish name) in 1640 when the Royal Academy was chartered with four faculties: Theology, Law, Medicine and Philosophy. Under the rule of Sweden, the monarch at that time was fourteen year-old Kristina (1632-1654), the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus. She is not depicted here, however. Instead, the illustrious Governor General of Finland, Count Per Brahe the Younger (1637-1640, and 1648-1651) is present. Already entering the portals of the square before the great, Gothic, thirteenth century Cathedral (seen in the background on the left) are citizens and two vergers (who traditionally lead academic marches) carrying maces, followed by Governor Brahe, posturing grandly with his staff and the badge of office (the yellow sash crossing his chest) and his flag and honor guard, then various faculty, citizens and soldiers. Trumpeters announce the beginning of the solemnities from a balcony above the procession, while townspeople add their acclamations from the foreground. Åbo/Turku is the oldest town in Finland and is located on either side of the Aura River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. With its year-round port, its strategic situation was recognized at the end of the thirteenth century when the impressive castle was erected. With the founding of the university, Åbu/Turku became not only the cultural but the academic center of Finland. The invasion of Finland by Tsar Peter the Great in 1710 brought the country under Russian rule for six years. The 1721 Treaty of Nystad returned part of the lands to Sweden, but, a disastrous war between Sweden and Russia twenty years after this was followed by another in 1788. Finally, Tsar Alexander invaded Finland in 1808, and, with the Treaty of Fredrikshamn of September 17, 1809, the whole land was ceded to Russia. The university was changed to the Imperial Academy of Turku in 1808-09, and then, in 1828, after 188 years of academic distinction in Åbo/Turku, it was transferred to Helsinki, which had been made the new capital of the country in 1821 when Russia wanted the government closer to itself. The Russian occupation was to last over a century. When Tsar Nicholas II abdicated in March, 1917, the provisional Russian government granted Finland representational government. When the Bolsheviks came to power in November 1917, the Finnish diet and senate published a declaration of independence on December 6, 1917. Sweden, and then the rest of the Scandinavians countries, as well as France and other European states followed. In 1919, a new Swedish university was founded in Turku, and, in 1922, a new Finnish university. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, these were expanded to the present enrollment of 11,000, with faculties in Theology, Music, Science, Medicine, Law, Social Sciences and Education. In depicting the dedication of the University of Åbo/Turku in 1904, Edelfelt was not only celebrating Finnish achievements in education, science and the arts, but was elevating these as inspiration for future generations. Furthermore, working under Russian censorship, by isolating the Governor General in the central panel and giving him an imposing carriage, the artist was proclaiming the ability and determination of Finland to rule itself. Unfortunately, the mural was subsequently destroyed. Louis Sparre’s 1908 print, alone, remains a witness to Albert Edelfeld’s hopes for his country. Ernst F. Tonsing, Ph.D. Thousand Oaks, California.

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