Knut Magnus Enckell (9 November 1870 in Hamina – 27 November 1925 in Stockholm) was a Finnish symbolist painter. At first he painted with a subdued palette, but from 1902 onwards used increasingly bright colors. He was a leading member of the ''Septem'' group of colorist painters. In Finland, Enckell is considered to have been a very influential symbolist artist.

Biography

Knut Magnus Enckell was born on 9 November 1870 in Hamina, a small town in eastern Finland, the son of Carl Enckell, a priest, and Alexandra Enckell (born Appelberg). He was the youngest of six sons. His native language was Finland’s Swedish. In 1889, at the age of 19, he began his artistic studies in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, at the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society, but he dropped out and continued his studies privately under Gunnar Berndtson. Naturalism was the established style during his education in

1889–1891. In 1891 he went to Paris for the first time, where he became a student of Jules-Joseph Lefebvre and

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (also known as Benjamin-Constant), born Jean-Joseph Constant (10 June 1845 – 26 May 1902), was a French painter and etcher best known for his Oriental subjects and portraits. Biography Benjamin-Constant was bor ...

at the Académie Julian. There he was drawn to the Symbolist movement, and was influenced by the painter

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux ...

as well as Symbolist literature. During a stay in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

he made two paintings in spare colors: ''Self-Portrait'' and ''Breton Woman''. He was enthusiastic about the Renaissance and about the idealistic and mystical ideas of Sâr Péladan. During his second stay in Paris in 1893, he painted ''The Awakening'', in which he used a rigorous composition and transparent colors to suggest a spiritual atmosphere; and, through contact with the Swedish artists, Olof Sager-Nelson and Ivan Aguéli, he deepened his interest in mysticism. It is generally believed that Enckell was a homosexual, as seems indicated in some erotic portraits which were quite uninhibited for their time, but his homosexuality has never been officially proven. As

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

's ''Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History'' puts it, "His love affairs with men have not been denied. ..Enckell's naked men and boys are openly erotic and sensual."''Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to World War II.''
Ed. Robert Aldrich, Garry Wotherspoon, Routledge, 2001, p. 148.
See also: Harri Kalha. ''Tapaus Magnus Enckell'' he Case of Magnus Enckell p. 326. (Historiallisia tutkimuksia, No. 227.) Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. 2005. In his own time, the sensuality of his paintings was explained away as something caused by his Swedish-speaking background. In 1894 and 1895 Enckell traveled to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, where his inner conflicts were reflected in his art. In 1898 he taught himself fresco and tempera techniques in Florence, by studying the work of Masaccio and

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

. The years in Italy gave his work a greater range of colors and a more optimistic foundation. In the first years of the twentieth century, under the influence of

Post Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

, he developed a brighter, more colorful palette. An example of this is the series, ''The Bathers'', in dark, lively colors. Together with Verner Thomé and Ellen Thesleff, Enckell founded the group ''Septem'', in which artists who shared his beliefs came together. 1907 Enckell executed the commission for the altarpiece of

Tampere Cathedral Tampere Cathedral ( fi, Tampereen tuomiokirkko, sv, Tammerfors domkyrka; originally known as St. John's Church) is a Lutheran church in Tampere, Finland, and the seat of the Diocese of Tampere. The building was designed in the National Romantic s ...

. The fresco, more than 10 meters wide and 4 meters high, shows, in subdued colors, the resurrection of people of all races. In the middle of the painting two men walk hand in hand. From 1901 onwards Enckell spent many summers on the island of Suursaari, where he painted his "Boys on the Beach" (1910). He organised exhibitions of Finnish art in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(1903) and Paris (1908), and of French and Belgian art in Helsinki (1904). He chaired the from 1915 to 1918, and was elected a member of the Fine Art Academy of Finland in 1922. Enckell died in Stockholm in 1925. His funeral was a national event. He was buried in his native town in Finland.Uppsalagsverket Finland.
(In Swedish.)

Works

References

Sources

* S. Koja, ed. ''Nordic Dawn Modernism's Awakening in Finland 1890–1920'' xhibition catalogue(2005) * ''Magnus Enckell 1870–1925'' xhibition catalogue, Helsinki City Art Museum(2000) * ''Magnus Enckell 1870–1925'' xhibition catalogue, Tampere Art Museum(1988)

External links

*
Magnus Enckell

Enckell, Magnus
at the National Gallery of Finland. :* {{DEFAULTSORT:Enckell, Magnus 1870 births 1925 deaths People from Hamina People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish people of German descent Gay artists LGBT people from Finland LGBT artists from Finland Burials in Finland Académie Julian alumni 20th-century Finnish painters Finnish male painters 20th-century Finnish male artists