Gezicht op Sortavala c. 1888 - 1893

This is Impi Backman’s landscape work titled ‘Gezicht op Sortavala.’ Backman, born in 1869, lived through a time of significant political and cultural change in Finland, particularly in relation to its identity and relationship with Russia. In this photograph, we see the town of Sortavala, now part of Russia, a place with a complex history of shifting national allegiances. The quiet stillness of the scene belies the political tensions and cultural negotiations inherent in representing a place caught between different national identities. Backman, as a woman artist in a male-dominated field, brings her own perspective to the portrayal of this landscape. Consider the subtle ways in which Backman captures the light and form of the Finnish landscape. It invites us to reflect on the personal and collective histories embedded in the land, and the ways in which identity is shaped by place, memory, and cultural context.