"Going to visit Kallela I’ll need at least a pair of high Lapp boots, thick woollen trousers and grandfather’s old black trousers, a sweater, a homespun coat and a winter hat. A pair of slippers might also come in handy in that stone castle."
(Erkki Tanttu commenting on visiting Tarvaspää,
25 September 1926)
Open: Tue-Sat 10 a.m-4 p.m. , Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Entrance fee 8 / 4 €, under 18 free admission
Groups 6 € (minimum 20 persons)
The Gallen-Kallela Museum is celebrating the centenary of the birth of the artist Erkki Tantun (1907-1985) with the exhibition The Silent Landscape – Erkki Tanttu visiting Tarvaspää. Tanttu was a distinctive successor of Akseli Gallen-Kallela in depicting Finnish folk life and as a virtuoso graphic artist, particularly in woodblock work. The exhibition presents a selection of the works of this versatile artist: woodblock prints of landscapes, book illustrations, ex librises, sketches and wooden walking sticks carved by him. The illustrations are from Albatrossin tarina by Volter Kilpi, the Sámi tale Ahkupiebmu and a collection of book covers.
Erkki Tanttu came to know the world of woodblock prints while studying at the Maxon-Kallenberger art school in Munich in 1934. His works from this period reveal a strong aesthetic of line: the mark of the stylus is original and coarse-grained, even rough. Woodblock technique replaced linoleum: “- - - once you get a grip on wood, linoleum is no longer interesting, it's too slack and loose.” The artist found his simplified themes on his many hiking expeditions. In Tanttu, Finnish nature found a profound interpreter; his monochrome landscapes began to live in a profusion of grey tones.
Erkki Tanttu followed a long career as an illustrator. The Silent Landscape also underscores Tanttu's work as a graphic artist.