Knut Magnus Enckell (9 November 1870 in

Hamina Hamina (; , , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, region, and formerly ...

– 27 November 1925 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

) 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 Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

artist.

Biography

Knut Magnus Enckell was born on 9 November 1870 in

, a small town in eastern Finland, the son of Carl Enckell, a priest, and Alexandra Enckell (born Appelberg). The Enckell family originates from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, from where Christoffer Enckell had moved to Southwest Finland in the 17th century. 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 () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, 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 at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

. 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-Ar ...

as well as Symbolist literature. During a stay in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

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 corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

'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 ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) 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 during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, 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 Masaccio (, ; ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great List of Italian painters, Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaiss ...

and

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

. 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, 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 (, ; 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 style by Lars Sonck, and built between 1902 and 190 ...

. The

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

, 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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(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. In 1920, Enckell bought Villa Eka in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

from Ellan de la Chapelle, the wife of

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

. In 1925, at the age of 55, Enckell died of pneumonia in

, Sweden, where he was hosting his own exhibition. 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 painters Finnish gay artists Finnish LGBTQ painters Académie Julian alumni 20th-century Finnish painters Finnish male painters 20th-century Finnish male artists Deaths from pneumonia in Sweden Finnish expatriates in France Finnish expatriates in Italy