Eero Järnefelt

Koli, since 1991 a National Park, is situated c. 500 km. northeast of Helsinki in Finnish North Karelia close to the border to Russia. Järnefelt made his first trip to Koli in 1892 together with the writer Juhano Aho (before 1908 Johannes Brofeldt) and Aho´s wife, the painter Venny Solda-Brofeldt. Emerging towards the end of the 19th century, Karelianism was a trend inspired by Karelia and the ancient Finnish lifestyle. The quest for Finnish roots and the national identity under Russian rule took people to areas rich in Karelian poetic and singing traditions. Soldan-Brofeldt describes the landscape in her travel journal: "We stayed on the slope of Koli Hill for a while. The scenery was fabulous: the meadows, pastures, trails of smoke in the evening sun, the hills looming in the distance." Aho himself was inspired by Koli for his novel Panu, published in 1898, which describes the struggle between Paganism and Christianity in Finland. Järnefelt continued to visit the area regularly until 1936. The area became nationally famous in Finland through Järnefelt´s picture ”Autumn Landscape of Lake Pielisjärvi”, from 1899 which was used for a National telegram which helped to define the national sense of Finland´s landscape (Ateneum, Helsinki).
.
In 1909 Järnefelt revisited Koli together with his brother-in-law, the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Sibelius wrote in his diary: ”Never have I felt as Finnish as in Vienna, Italy and Paris. Never have I felt as Parisian as on Lake Pielinen”. Sibelius’s fourth symphony, which premiered in 1911, was partly inspired by his trip to Koli and he dedicated it to Järnefelt. It is characterized by an introspective yet expressionistic and rather coarse style to a great extent influenced by the forces of nature. As an hommage to Sibelius, Järnefelt, together with A.W. Finch and Ilmari Aalto, painted a large scene of Koli in 1911 for the restaurant at Helsinki railway station.