Benjamin perronnet V5 - Flipbook - Page 66
la mémoire de la 昀椀lle du commanditaire,
décédée de la tuberculose à l’âge de onze ans.
Malheureusement, les fresques s’abîment très
vite et un incendie les détruit complètement en
1931. En 1933, Jorma, le 昀椀ls de l’artiste recrée
les fresques à l’aide des dessins et esquisses
peintes de son père - celles-ci sont aujourd’hui
conservées à l’Ateneum d’Helsinki (Fig. 2).
Au 昀氀euve Tuonela représente l’adieu à la vie.
Avant que les morts montent sur la barque avec
laquelle ils vont traverser le 昀氀euve Tuonela,
ils se dépouillent de leurs vêtements. La jeune
昀椀lle 昀椀gurée sur le présent dessin est tout à
gauche de la fresque, déjà assise à l’avant de
la barque, prête à être emportée au royaume
de Tuonela. Ses pleurs sont ceux d’une jeune
morte, regrettant d’avoir à quitter le monde des
vivants. Sa nudité 昀椀gure le dépouillement de
son existence, et découvre sa vulnérabilité. Dans
la peinture, comme dans les épreuves colorées
de l’eau-forte, le cygne est rouge.
Engraved in 1903 by the artist in an etching and drypoint
(Fig. 1) known in many states, some in color.
A young woman sits weeping, her head in her hands, in
front of a dark lake where a swan glides. This is a Finnish
cultural icon, with its roots in the Kalevala. This verse epic
was composed in the nineteenth century by Elias Lönnrot
(1802-1884), based on popular Finnish mythological poems
handed down orally. It is considered Finland’s national
epic, and is one of the most important works in the Finnish
language. It was an important source of inspiration for
the country’s artists, particularly its most famous, Gallen
Kallela.
In the Kalevala, the swan appears in all its splendor on
the river of the world of the dead, Tuonela, pursued by the
young hero Lemminkäinen :
... When for me the swan thou killest
In the river of Tuoni,
Swimming in the black death-river,
In the sacred stream and whirlpool;
The image of the swan 昀氀oating on the dark waters of
Tuonela not only inspired several works by Gallen Kallela,
but also a symphonic poem by his friend Sibelius, The
Swan of Tuonela (Op. 22, 1895), in which the bird is evoked
by the mournful sound of an English horn. The Kalevalian
reference also encounters a cluster of musical works from
the European repertoire, such as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake
ballet (1877) or Saint-Saëns’ The Swan (1907).
The composition of the drawing echoes a detail from
Tuonelan joella, a large fresco also created in 1903, part of
a cycle of six paintings decorating the Jusélius mausoleum,
commissioned to celebrate the memory of the patron’s
daughter, who died of tuberculosis at the age of eleven.
Unfortunately, the frescoes soon fell into disrepair and were
completely destroyed by 昀椀re in 1931. In 1933, the artist’s son
Jorma recreated the frescoes using his father’s drawings
and painted sketches - these are now preserved at the
Ateneum in Helsinki (Fig. 2).
The Tuonela River represents the farewell to life. Before
the dead board the boat on which they are to cross the
Tuonela River, they strip o昀昀 their clothes. The young girl in
this drawing is at the far left of the fresco, already seated
at the bow of the boat, ready to be taken to the kingdom
of Tuonela. Her cries are those of a young dead woman,
regretting having to leave the world of the living. Her
nudity represents the stripping away of her existence, and
reveals her vulnerability. In the painting, as in the colored
etchings, the swan is red.
Fig. 2. Akseli Gallen Kallela, Au 昀氀euve Tuonela,
Helsinki, Ateneum
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