The Cygnaeus collection

Interior of the Cygnaeus gallery. Photo: National Board of Antiquities / Markku Haverinen.

The Burnt Village, Albert Edelfelt 1879.
Photo: National Board of Antiquities.

Albert Edelfelt: The Burnt Village, 1879. Photo: National Board of Antiquities.

Fredrik Cygnaeus was determined to have at least one work by every significant Finnish artist of his time, and indeed his collection of contemporary art did become quite comprehensive. Most of the works of art added to the collection afterwards date back to his lifetime as well.

The aesthetic conceptions of Cygnaeus are best visible in his choice of subjects. He tried hard to persuade artists to paint historical scenarios, which was generally considered to be the noblest genre of painting. It could also be regarded as nationalist art when artists used themes out of Finnish history as basis of their works. Nevertheless, the subject matter suggested by Cygnaeus left the Finnish artists more or less uninspired.

Albert Edelfelt's painting The Burnt Village, which is part of the gallery's collection, is one of the most important historical paintings made by a Finnish artist. This painting, the last of Edelfelt's historical compositions, was presented in the Paris Salon in 1879. After that point Edelfelt was more attracted by contemporary reality, following the French realism and especially the example of his friend, Jules Bastien-Lepage.

It was more characteristic of the Finnish mentality to express national emotions through landscape painting. Cygnaeus greatly admired the way Finnish writers had depicted the country's nature and wished to evoke a counterpart for this in painting. His collection contains many important landscapes from the point of view of Finnish art history.

An important source for the national motifs was the epic, Kalevala, first published in 1835. A Swedish sculptor, C. E. Sjöstrand, had taken a lively interest in this heroic epic in his home country. Persuaded by Cygnaeus to come over to Finland, Sjöstrand made several sculptures based on Kalevala themes while residing here.

A remarkable number of women contributed to the advancement of Finnish art in the 19th century. Those who studied in France in the 1880s belong to the most appreciated generation. The French realism was of decisive significance to works of Maria Wiik, Helene Schjerfbeck and Helena Westermarck.