''The Defense of the Sampo'' ( fi, Sammon puolustus) is an 1896 Romantic national painting by Finnish painter

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 iden ...

. The painting illustrates a passage from the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...

'', the Finnish national epic compiled by

Elias Lönnrot Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'', (1835, enlarged 1849), from short ...

in the 19th century. The scene portrayed is taken from the 43rd song of the epic, where the hero

Väinämöinen Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, m ...

, seen wielding a sword, has stolen the precious artifact

Sampo In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopi ...

from the evil witch

Louhi Louhi () is a wicked queen of the land known as Pohjola in Finnish mythology and a villain of the ''Kalevala''. As many mythological creatures and objects are easily conflated and separated in Finnish mythology, Louhi is probably an alter-eg ...

, and she, having taken the form of a giant bird, is trying to reclaim it. The battle for the Sampo is also given a deeper connotation as a battle for the soul of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Reception

When the painting was first exhibited, it received widespread attention and was considered to be Gallen-Kallela's finest work. Gallen-Kallela's vision of a warlike Väinämöinen was seen as a radical departure from the old, gray-bearded sage of older renditions. In the painting, Väinämöinen's long, flowing white hair and beard are dramatically contrasted by his strong, muscular body. The painting was originally commissioned by a wealthy patron from

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 ...

, Salomo Wuorio, for his dining room. According to Gallen-Kallela's notes, however, the deal was amicably dissolved when the patron's wife had an extremely negative reaction to the finished work. Afterwards, ''The Defense of the Sampo'' was purchased by the Turku Arts Association (''Turun taideyhdistys'') for the previously unheard-of price of 4000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

. Gallen-Kallela created a well-received fresco of the same painting for the Finnish gallery at the Paris World's fair 1900 (destroyed at the end of the fair), and again in 1928, for the

National Museum of Finland The National Museum of Finland ( fi, Kansallismuseo, sv, Nationalmuseum) presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The Finnish National Romantic style building is located in central He ...

foyer in Helsinki where it remains viewable to this day.

References

1896 paintings Works based on the Kalevala Paintings by Akseli Gallen-Kallela Paintings in Finland Mythological paintings Maritime paintings {{19C-painting-stub