Inspired by Finland framstäldt i teckningar

Even before the Finland framstäldt i teckningar series of booklets depicting Finnish landscapes was published in 1845–1852, landscape works depicting Finland had been featured in several publications in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Works such as Vues pittoresques de la Finlande published in St. Petersburg in 1823–1824 and Karl von Kügelgen’s Voyage pittoresque (1832), or P. A. Kruskopf’s Finska vuer (1837) and Fredrik Tengström’s Vuer af Helsingfors (1838) published in Helsinki, had paved the way for more extensive publications.

The landscape depictions of these publications combined two older traditions. One of them was the antiquarian-topographic tradition from the 17th century, the most notable representative of which was Svecia antiqua et hodierna, published in Sweden at the turn of the 17th and 18th century, which already featured two Finnish landmarks depicted in latter works: Häme Castle and Vyborg Castle. The other tradition was the admiration of so-called picturesque or painting-like landscapes, which began in the late 18th century and was connected to increased nature travel during the century.

For example, the majesty of the Alps was admired in the 18th century, and Italy was a favourite destination among all nobles on a so-called Grand Tour. In the early 19th century, travelling to Italy was more difficult than before – even impossible at times – due to the Napoleonic Wars. Because of this, tourists began travelling to new areas: to Russia and the exotic Arctic Circle instead of just southern Europe. Lapland had already been depicted in a few scientific works back in the late 17th century. Several travel books focusing on Russia also featured southern Finland, albeit often briefly and not in the most flattering of terms.

Having taught history and Swedish at Helsingfors lyceum in the late 1840s, Zachris Topelius took it upon himself to teach Finns to appreciate the nature of their native country and understand Finland’s position in history. He worked towards these goals in his newspaper articles and books and later through his university lectures. Finland framstäldt i teckningar was also aiming at the same goal.

An immediate inspiration for the Finland framstäldt i teckningar series was Sverige framstäldt i teckningar published in Sweden in 1838, the editor of which was the Finnish-born G. H. Mellin. Topelius first mentioned Finland framstäldt i teckningar in 1843, saying in a letter that he had received an editorial job offer. To expedite the writing work, H. A. Reinholm ended up writing a part of the introduction with Topelius.

Finland framstäldt i teckningar was published as booklets ordered in advance, each featuring four pictures and a certain number of text pages. The texts in the booklets did not correspond with the imagery, as the booklet began with a general presentation of the country and the people written by Topelius, followed by texts related to the pictures. The first booklet was published in 1845, but because the time between issues was longer than planned, the last booklet was not published until 1852.

The publication process was started by A. C. Öhman from Porvoo and finished after a few publisher changes by his brother J. E. Öhman. The texts were printed in Helsinki by A. W. Gröndahl, while the images were printed by Adler & Dietze, a company specialising in lithography in Dresden. The model drawings for the lithographs were created by Johan Knutson (48 pcs), P. A. Kruskopf (31), Magnus von Wright (17), Lennart Forstén (15), Adolf Wilhelm Lindeström (5), Jacob Boström (1) and Erik Westerling (1). Two of the drawings do not feature the name of the artist. Several original drawings by Knutson, among others, are featured in the Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency.

In 1853, the Cathedral Chapter of Turku recommended that Finland framstäldt i teckningar be acquired for all upper and lower comprehensive schools and upper secondary schools in Finland. However, when the series was published, it was criticised for only being in Swedish. This issue was remedied in the new picture publication En resa i Finland written by Topelius and published in 1872–1874 simultaneously in Finnish under the name Matkustus Suomessa. However, the most important publication about Finland written by Topelius was Maamme kirja (Boken om vårt land) published in 1875. The publication informed school pupils’ notions of Finns and Finland well into the mid-20th century.

In a way, Finland framstäldt i teckningar cemented the basic types of Finnish natural landscapes that people admired: hills, forests and lakes received an iconic status. The publication also featured other cities, battle sites and historical monuments, as well as depictions of people, and these selections also influenced what artists would depict later.

17,000 separate picture pages from the publication were still on sale in the late 1850s, being sold as individual pages and bundles. The separately sold pictures probably contributed to pictures from the publication being used as models for other works, as the selection here indicates. With this in mind, it is interesting that pictures depicting cities and manors in particular were often used as models for works such as paintings, window shades and roller blinds. Another indication of the popularity of the illustrations is that they were used as models for paintings depicting manors and churches, among other things.

Finland framstäldt i teckningar

Jouni Kuurne