Painting of the Month

Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 'Lake Keitele', 1905
Special Feature: Myth and Meaning

'Lake Keitele' is the only painting by a Finnish artist at the National Gallery. Its elegant atmosphere of cool tranquillity makes it one of the best-loved paintings in the collection.

It was painted at a time when Finland was struggling to gain its own national identity and recapture its cultural roots. 'Lake Keitele' reflects the artist Gallen-Kallela's preoccupation with Finnish cultural history.

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