Cultural Amnesia and the ‘Golden Age’ of Finnish Art: Unravelling the Narratives of Finnish Art History, c. 1880s–1910s

The project opens a new perspective on Finnish visual art at the turn of the twentieth century by casting a critical eye on the dominant narrative. This period, known as the ‘Golden Age’, is considered highly significant for the establishment of a national identity. According to the commonly held historical narrative, painters and sculptors in late nineteenth-century Finland, at the time an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire, shared a patriotic mission that led to a blossoming of the arts. This mythical narrative is attached to outdated and stereotypical views of Finland as a nation, its history, landscape, people, and society, which can no longer be sustained in the global and pluralist contemporary society. The project examines the mechanisms of remembering and forgetting that have generated the narrative. The aim is to understand how and why some historical aspects have become dominant while others have been actively concealed, overlooked, or pushed into the margins.