Artwork
In the Sauna
In the Sauna is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the Finnish National Gallery.
About this work
Gallen‑Kallela gave the work to Knut Tilgmann, and Tilgmann’s brother later donated it to the Ateneum in 1922.
In the Sauna is an oil painting from 1889 by Finnish artist Akseli Gallen‑Kallela. It was created while he was staying at Ekola’s croft in Keuruu.
Gallen‑Kallela gave the work to Knut Tilgmann, and Tilgmann’s brother later donated it to the Ateneum in 1922. The artist himself was not pleased with the piece and felt it was unfinished.
If you want to see where it lives, check out the museum: Ateneum.
Overview
In the Sauna, executed in oil on canvas in 1889, is a work by Finnish painter Akseli Gallen‑Kallela. The composition depicts an interior sauna scene, rendered in the artist’s early realist manner. Though modest in size, the painting reflects Gallen‑Kallela’s interest in everyday Finnish life during the late nineteenth century.
Context
Gallen‑Kallela painted the piece while staying at the Ekola croft in the rural community of Keuruu. The remote farmhouse environment provided direct observation of traditional sauna practices, which the artist incorporated into the work’s intimate atmosphere. The painting thus serves as a visual record of a specific locale and its cultural customs.
History & Provenance
After completing the canvas, Gallen‑Kallela presented it to his contemporary Knut Tilgmann. Several years later Tilgmann’s brother transferred the painting to the Ateneum, Finland’s national gallery, where it entered the public collection in 1922. The work has remained in the museum’s holdings since that donation.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (born Axel Waldemar Gallén; 26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter and a leading figure of Finnish romantic nationalism around the turn of the 20th century.
