Akseli Gallen‐Kallela and Germany

Abstract

Summary Foreign contacts and a trip to Berlin for staging an exhibition were of great importance for Gallen's artistic output, which had long been in a state of crisis. Although Berlin marks the end of his purely symbolist paintings, the themes of the period came forth particularly in Gallen's original prints, on which he concentrated in late 1895. In the spring of 1895 Gallen undertook a brief study trip to England, after which his varied experiments in applied arts flourished, their goalbeinga"totalworkofart” (Gesamtkunstwerk). In Gallen's paintings, the so‐called Kalela‐period, following his stay in Berlin, strove towards the decorativeness typical of the spirit of the times. In all its stages, the interest generated by Gallen in Germany followed from his exhibition in 1895. In this respect, it is correct to speak of Gallen's international breakthrough. His success in Germany for a period of over ten years was also noted throughout the German‐speaking countries, and made Gallen known also in Hungary, P...