There are almost 190,000 lakes in Finland. Lake Keitele is one of the most famous, thanks to Akseli Gallen-Kallela.
While Gallen-Kallela holds a prominent place in Finnish culture, Finnish painting remains little-known beyond its borders. In fact, it wasn't until 1999 that Finnish art entered the National Gallery with the acquisition of ‘Lake Keitele’, now one of the most popular landscape of the collection.
However, this landscape is only the culmination of a much longer journey.
The Kalevala
For centuries, Finland was a colony of its neighbor Sweden until 1809, when it became a Russian duchy with more or less autonomy. Swedish and Russian authorities, during their rule over Finland, sought to impose their culture and influence. Yet Finland has its own language, barely related to any other European language, and its own culture, mainly derived from oral tradition.
Nationalism emerged as a new idea in 19th-century Europe, reacting to the large, …
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