Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), ‘Ad Astra’, 1894“The idea of the artist as a chosen b
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), ‘Ad Astra’, 1894“The idea of the artist as a chosen being and demiurge who, alone, sees the invisible, is obviously very present in these works. A study of this painting, not present in the exhibition but reproduced in the catalogue, shows the silhouette of a figure with its arms raised standing out against the cosmic sphere in the background : the completed work eliminates this presence but the same theme appears, majestically, in Ad Astra, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful European Symbolist paintings. A cosmic vision of the resurrection, of impressive plastic impact, this work, sacralized by an ecclesial frame, remained in the artist’s studio his whole life. Gallen-Kallela read the theosophical philosophers, owned the astronomy books, tainted with mysticism of Camille Flammarion and visited the first Salon de la Rose+Croix in 1892 : there is no doubt that he shared the questioning of most Symbolists on the meaning and evolution of art.” (Source) -- source link
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