Lake Keitele: A Vision of Finland

(Wednesday) (Sunday)

See all four versions of Gallen-Kallela’s shimmering Lake Keitele

A leading figure in modern Finnish painting Akseli Gallen-Kallela was mesmerised by the beauty of the Finnish landscape and returned to Lake Keitele, north of Helsinki, throughout his career.

This exhibition reunites all four of the artist’s depictions of the lake, displaying them side by side in the order he painted them; demonstrating the gradual shift of the composition from an observed, naturalistic landscape towards a highly stylised and abstracted image.

Alongside the Lake Keitele paintings are more than a dozen works from international avant-gardes who Gallen-Kallela was in contact with during much of his working life, on loan from public and private Finnish collections.

Image above: Detail from Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Lake Keitele, 1905

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Lake Keitele: A Vision of Finland The National Gallery Main address: The National Gallery Trafalgar Square WC2N 5DN London, The National Gallery Trafalgar Square WC2N 5DN London, See all four versions of Gallen-Kallela’s shimmering Lake Keitele

A leading figure in modern Finnish painting Akseli Gallen-Kallela was mesmerised by the beauty of the Finnish landscape and returned to Lake Keitele, north of Helsinki, throughout his career.

This exhibition reunites all four of the artist’s depictions of the lake, displaying them side by side in the order he painted them; demonstrating the gradual shift of the composition from an observed, naturalistic landscape towards a highly stylised and abstracted image.

Alongside the Lake Keitele paintings are more than a dozen works from international avant-gardes who Gallen-Kallela was in contact with during much of his working life, on loan from public and private Finnish collections.

Image above: Detail from Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Lake Keitele, 1905
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