Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of

Rautatientori Helsinki Railway Square ( fi, Rautatientori, sv, Järnvägstorget) is an open square immediately to the east of the Helsinki Central railway station in central Helsinki in Finland. The square serves as Helsinki's secondary bus station along with ...

square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has the biggest collections of classical art in Finland. Before 1991 the Ateneum building also housed the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and University of Art and Design Helsinki.

Collections

The collections of Ateneum include Finnish art extensively from 18th-century rococo portraiture to the experimental art movements of the 20th century. The collections also include some 650 international works of art. One of them is Vincent van Gogh's ''Street in Auvers-sur-Oise'' (1890), which when deposited to Ateneum in 1903 made it the first museum collection in the world to include a Vincent van Gogh painting. Other notable works include

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish-Swedish painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visible abroad, befor ...

’s ''The Luxembourg Garden'' (1887),

Akseli Gallen-Kallela Akseli Gallen-Kallela (26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic. His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national ident ...

’s ''Aino Triptych'' (1891), Eero Järnefelt’s ''Under the Yoke (Burning the Brushwood)'' (1893) and Hugo Simberg’s ''Wounded Angel'' (1903).

Notable works

Architecture

The Ateneum building was designed by

Theodor Höijer Carl Theodor Höijer (20 February 1843, Helsinki – 31 October 1910, Helsinki) was a Finns, Finnish architect. He designed a large number of buildings in central Helsinki. He was the first architect in Finland who managed to pursue a truly succe ...

and completed in 1887. The facade of Ateneum is decorated with statues and reliefs which contain a lot of symbols. Above the main entrance, in the second floor, are busts of three famous classical artists: architect Bramante, painter Raphael and sculptor Phidias. Above the busts, in the third floor, four caryatids support the pediment. These symbolize the four classical art forms: sculpture, painting, geometry, and architecture.http://vanderkrogt.net/statues/object.php?webpage=ST&record=fi117 Façade decoration of the Ateneum The facade culminates in a collage of sculptures in which the Goddess of Art, Pallas Athene, blesses the products of the different art forms. Below the pediment's collage is the Latin phrase ''

Concordia res parvae crescunt Concordia may refer to: * Concordia (mythology), the Roman goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society Businesses and organizations Educational institutions * Concordia University (disambiguation), for Concordia University, Concor ...

'' (''With concord small things increase''), which is usually understood in Helsinki to refer to the long-lasting battle of the Finnish art circles in order to establish the museum. All the statues were by

Carl Eneas Sjöstrand Carl Eneas Sjöstrand (11 September 1828 – 14 February 1906) was a Swedish people, Swedish sculptor who worked for over 40 years in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Biography Sjöstrand was born at Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of painter Carl ...

. In between the second floor windows are 16 medallion-style reliefs by

Ville Vallgren Carl Wilhelm "Ville" Vallgren (15 December 1855 – 13 October 1940) was a Finnish sculptor. His best-known work is the statue ''Havis Amanda'' in Helsinki. Biography He was born in Porvoo, and long resident in Paris, whither he went in 1878, af ...

representing some of Finland's most well known creative people of his day, including painter

Aleksander Lauréus Aleksander Lauréus, also Alexander Lauraeus, (4 January 1783 – 21 October 1823) was a Finnish painter. Family Lauréus was born in Turku to Lovisa Ulrika and Alexander Laureus, a Doctor of Theology, and was named after his paternal grandfather. ...

Werner Holmberg Gustaf Werner Holmberg (1 November 1830 – 24 September 1860) was a Finnish landscape painter. Biography Early life Holmberg was born in Helsinki. His father was Olof Henrik Holmberg (1799–1863) and mother Josefina Gustava Federley (1806–1840 ...

and the architect Carl Ludvig Engel. Other ornamental elements were sculpted by Magnus von Wright. The Ateneum building is owned by

Senate Properties sv, Senatfastigheter , logo = Senate logo.gif , type = Liikelaitos Senate Properties 2009(Finnish). (≈ unincorporated entity, unincorporated state-owned enterprise) Ministry of Finance 2009. Senate Properties 2009/ref ...

( fi, Senaatti-kiinteistöt), the government real estate provider.

References

External links

Ateneum Art Museum
within

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

* {{Helsinki Cityscape 1887 establishments in Finland Museums in Helsinki Art museums and galleries in Finland Art museums established in 1887 Kluuvi

Collections

Notable works

Architecture

See also

References

External links