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"The essential characteristic of Symbolist art is never to fix an idea conceptually or to express it directly". These words of the French poet Jean Moréas from the "Symbolist Manifesto" of 1886 characterize the relationship Hugo Gerhard Simberg had with his works - especially with his most famous painting "The Wounded Angel". It shows an angel with wounded wings, seated on a wooden stretcher, being carried by two boys along a path through the Finnish landscape. The landscape depiction was inspired by Töölönlathi Bay in Helsinki. Simberg fell ill with meningitis in 1902 and spent months in a deaconess hospital there. During this time he often walked along its shores. He struggled with all his might to recover so that he could complete his painting. When it was first exhibited in 1903, he received many questions about it: What happened to the angel? Why is he injured? Where are the boys taking him? Did they hurt the angel? What does the painting mean? Simberg did not answer these questions.
In Simberg's view, looking at paintings is not about reflection and searching for meaning. It is unnecessary to know what the artist might have been thinking while painting or what might have happened before a depicted scene. Painting serves to trigger feelings. It does not matter whether the painting is artistically perceived as good, bad, beautiful or ugly. Only the sensation is important - whether it is sad, happy or of a different nature. Therefore, a painting cannot be interpreted correctly or incorrectly. Each person views a painting in a personal way. In 2006, Finns voted "The Wounded Angel" as the most popular painting in their country. The Ateneum Museum in the Finnish National Gallery initiated the nationwide public vote. Participants were able to give reasons for their choice. The majority opinion was that the "Wounded Angel" is a beautiful painting that is always thought-provoking. More than 100 years after its creation, new interpretations were put forward. Perhaps it is a symbol of the Finnish struggle for independence, the vulnerability of Töölölanthi Bay or nature in general? Simberg himself, in accordance with his convictions, had not even given the painting a title. For the first exhibition catalog he gave the name "Wounded Angels" only in the sense of a suggestion or description.
Stylistically, Simberg was already assigned to Symbolism during his lifetime. Many of his motifs depict scenes with allegorical figures such as death, frost or the devil. The Finns originally found it difficult to accept Simberg's form of expression. Together with fellow painter Magnus Enkell, he was commissioned in 1904 to decorate the interior of St. John's Church in Tampere. For this, Simberg transferred "The Wounded Angel" and his watercolor "The Garden of Death" into large format. For the wall fresco "Bearers of the Vines" he designed the twelve disciples of Jesus as naked boys carrying garlands of foliage. Under the ceiling dome he placed a snake surrounded by angel wings with a plant germ in its open mouth. Churchgoers reacted with shock at the consecration in 1907. Today, Tampere Cathedral is considered a total work of art and one of the highlights of Finnish artistic creation.
"The essential characteristic of Symbolist art is never to fix an idea conceptually or to express it directly". These words of the French poet Jean Moréas from the "Symbolist Manifesto" of 1886 characterize the relationship Hugo Gerhard Simberg had with his works - especially with his most famous painting "The Wounded Angel". It shows an angel with wounded wings, seated on a wooden stretcher, being carried by two boys along a path through the Finnish landscape. The landscape depiction was inspired by Töölönlathi Bay in Helsinki. Simberg fell ill with meningitis in 1902 and spent months in a deaconess hospital there. During this time he often walked along its shores. He struggled with all his might to recover so that he could complete his painting. When it was first exhibited in 1903, he received many questions about it: What happened to the angel? Why is he injured? Where are the boys taking him? Did they hurt the angel? What does the painting mean? Simberg did not answer these questions.
In Simberg's view, looking at paintings is not about reflection and searching for meaning. It is unnecessary to know what the artist might have been thinking while painting or what might have happened before a depicted scene. Painting serves to trigger feelings. It does not matter whether the painting is artistically perceived as good, bad, beautiful or ugly. Only the sensation is important - whether it is sad, happy or of a different nature. Therefore, a painting cannot be interpreted correctly or incorrectly. Each person views a painting in a personal way. In 2006, Finns voted "The Wounded Angel" as the most popular painting in their country. The Ateneum Museum in the Finnish National Gallery initiated the nationwide public vote. Participants were able to give reasons for their choice. The majority opinion was that the "Wounded Angel" is a beautiful painting that is always thought-provoking. More than 100 years after its creation, new interpretations were put forward. Perhaps it is a symbol of the Finnish struggle for independence, the vulnerability of Töölölanthi Bay or nature in general? Simberg himself, in accordance with his convictions, had not even given the painting a title. For the first exhibition catalog he gave the name "Wounded Angels" only in the sense of a suggestion or description.
Stylistically, Simberg was already assigned to Symbolism during his lifetime. Many of his motifs depict scenes with allegorical figures such as death, frost or the devil. The Finns originally found it difficult to accept Simberg's form of expression. Together with fellow painter Magnus Enkell, he was commissioned in 1904 to decorate the interior of St. John's Church in Tampere. For this, Simberg transferred "The Wounded Angel" and his watercolor "The Garden of Death" into large format. For the wall fresco "Bearers of the Vines" he designed the twelve disciples of Jesus as naked boys carrying garlands of foliage. Under the ceiling dome he placed a snake surrounded by angel wings with a plant germ in its open mouth. Churchgoers reacted with shock at the consecration in 1907. Today, Tampere Cathedral is considered a total work of art and one of the highlights of Finnish artistic creation.
.jpg "The Bathhouse - Sauna - is Heated. Description According to Sources by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Dance of Death, 1899 by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Towards the Evening by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Farmer and Death at the Gates of Heaven and Hell by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "The Wonderful Flower by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Folk Song Kansanlaulu, 1894 by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "King Hobgoblin Sleeping by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Death and the Peasant, 1896 by Hugo Simberg")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1011032).jpg "Dance of Death by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Death and the Farmer by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Frost by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Towards the Evening by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Frost by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Self-Portrait by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "The Garden of Death by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "The Artist")
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.jpg "King Hobgoblin Sleeping by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Christmas Night by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Dance on the Landing Bridge by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Boy Carrying Garland from the Frieze in the St. John")
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.jpg "Boy Akseli. Description According to Sources by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "The Devil Blowing by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Death and the Potato Peeler by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "Poppy by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "At the Gate of Tuonela by Hugo Simberg")
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.jpg "The Wounded Angel by Hugo Simberg")
.jpg "The Garden of Death by Hugo Simberg")
.jpg "The Garden of Death by Hugo Simberg")
.jpg "Self-Portrait by Hugo Simberg")