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Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (April 26, 1865 - March
7, 1931) was a Finnish painter who is most of all known for his
illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic (illustration,
right).
He was born Axél Waldemar Gallén
in Pori (in Swedish Björneborg), Finland. His father Peter
Gallén worked as police chief and lawyer. At the age of 11
he was sent to Helsinki to study at a grammar school. He also attended
drawing classes at the Finnish Art Society.
In 1884 he moved to Paris, to study at the Académie
Julian. In Paris he became friends with the Finnish painter Albert
Edelfelt, the Norwegian painter Adam Dörnberger, and the Swedish
writer August Strindberg.
In 1890 he married Mary Slöör. The couple
had three children, Impi Marjatta, Kirsti and Jorma. On their honeymoon
to East Karelia, Gallen-Kallela started collecting material for
his depictions of the Kalevala.
For the Paris World Fair in 1900 Gallen-Kallela
painted frescoes for the Finnish Pavilion. He also painted the frescoes
for the Jusélius Mausoleum in Pori between 1901 and 1903.
The frescoes were destroyed during World War II but later repainted
by the artist's son Jorma.
He officially finnicized his name to the more Finnish
sounding Akseli Gallen-Kallela in 1907.
In 1918 the regent, General Mannerheim invited
Gallen-Kallela to design the flags, official decorations and uniforms
for the newly independent Finland. In 1919 he was appointed aide-de-camp
to Mannerheim.
In 1925 he began the illustrations for his "Great
Kalevala". This was still unfinished when he died in Stockholm
on March 7th, 1931, while returning from a lecture in Copenhagen,
Denmark.
The paintings are the excellent portrayal of the events and scenes
that we see around us. The painters are the best cameras of the
world. They reproduce many different types of pictures. They even
draw imaginary pictures that do not exist in this world. We tend
to use both thinned oil paints and dense oil paints. Masterpieces
can be dyed more than once, but each time it may be different from
the existing paintings.h
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