Maisemaharjoitelma 1891

Magnus Enckell made this landscape study with graphite on paper. From the late 1880s, Finnish art circles were increasingly drawn to French Symbolism, and landscape became a vehicle for expressing moods. The simple image presents a low horizon line that divides a dark gray land from a pale gray sky. The texture created by the graphite marks hints at the rough terrain of the Finnish countryside. The artist was part of a generation that sought to express Finnish identity through its landscape, literature, and music. It was a time of increasing calls for independence from the Russian Empire. The landscape here is devoid of people. Did the artist see something inherently Finnish in the bare landscape? As historians, we can look at political and cultural movements, such as the push for independence, in order to understand better how art and national identity are linked.