The Cygnaeus Gallery ( fi, Cygnaeuksen galleria, sv, Cygnaei galleri) is an art gallery in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. The art gallery was founded by the professor of aesthetics

Fredrik Cygnaeus Fredrik Cygnaeus (1 April 1807 – 7 February 1881) was a Finnish poet, art critic and collector, docent of history and university professor of aesthetics and literature. Cygnaeus was an influential figure in Finnish art and literature, cont ...

. It was built as a villa in 1869–1870 to designs by architect J.F.W. Mieritz. Cygnaeus donated the gallery to the Finnish nation in his testament. It opened to the public in 1882, and is today owned by the

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...

. It has been claimed to be the oldest still operating art museum in Finland. The gallery contains mainly Finnish art from the 19th century, 200 works in total. Among artists represented are

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 ...

, the

Von Wright brothers Of the five von Wright brothers, three were artists: *Magnus von Wright (1805–1868) *Wilhelm von Wright (1810–1887) *Ferdinand von Wright (1822–1906) These ornithologists, scientists, nature illustrators and artists were born in Haminalahti ...

Fanny Churberg Fanny Churberg (12 December 1845, in Vaasa – 10 May 1892, in Helsinki) was a Finland, Finnish landscape painter. Biography Her father, Matias Churberg, was a doctor from a family of farmers and her mother Maria was the daughter of the vicar in L ...

and

Helene Schjerfbeck Helena Sofia (Helene) Schjerfbeck (; July 10, 1862 – January 23, 1946) was a Finnish painter. A modernist painter, she is known for her realist works and self-portraits, and also for her landscapes and still lifes. Throughout her long life, he ...

. Apart from the permanent collections the museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and is used, among other things, as concert venue. In 2014 it was closed down for the time being for lack of funding by the Heritage Agency.

References

External links

* {{Helsinki Cityscape Museums in Helsinki 1882 establishments in Finland