Forwarded from Wäinölä 🇫🇮
Robert Wilhelm Ekman (1808 – 1873) 🇫🇮 — Väinämöinen playing the Kantele (1866)
Ekman began working on the painting in 1857, but due to financial difficulties et cetera, he didn't finish it until 1866. Its initial reception was poor — it was too Finnish for the Swedes, and Ekman himself too Swedish for the Finns — but the painting is now considered to be his magnum opus. He also made a sketch of the composition.
Väinämöinen is surrounded by a host of Gods and entities. Pellervoinen, the God of vegetation, is seen planting a sapling on the left. Behind him are the God & Goddess of the forest, Tapio & Mielikki. Behind them, accompanied by a bear, is a hiisi, a tricksterlike entity. On the right are Ahti & Vellamo, the God & Goddess of the sea. The girls in the front, accompanied by a swan, are known as Sotkotars (singular: Sotkotar, i.e. 'Scaupess'). Sitting on the rainbow are the airmaids Päivätär & Kuutar, along with Tähdetär ('Starress'), Otavatar (from Otava, the Big Dipper), and a fifth one.
Ekman began working on the painting in 1857, but due to financial difficulties et cetera, he didn't finish it until 1866. Its initial reception was poor — it was too Finnish for the Swedes, and Ekman himself too Swedish for the Finns — but the painting is now considered to be his magnum opus. He also made a sketch of the composition.
Väinämöinen is surrounded by a host of Gods and entities. Pellervoinen, the God of vegetation, is seen planting a sapling on the left. Behind him are the God & Goddess of the forest, Tapio & Mielikki. Behind them, accompanied by a bear, is a hiisi, a tricksterlike entity. On the right are Ahti & Vellamo, the God & Goddess of the sea. The girls in the front, accompanied by a swan, are known as Sotkotars (singular: Sotkotar, i.e. 'Scaupess'). Sitting on the rainbow are the airmaids Päivätär & Kuutar, along with Tähdetär ('Starress'), Otavatar (from Otava, the Big Dipper), and a fifth one.
Forwarded from • Hellas • Ελλάδα • Greece
Silver medallion with winged Dionysos, partially gilded. Greek, 4th-3rd c.BC. Probably from the center of a bowl.