Akseli gallen-kallela Paintings(1865-1931)

Gallen-Kallela was a Finnish artist and designer closely associated with notions of National Romanticism, especially relating to the region of Karelia, also a source of inspiration for the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Of particular influence was the collection of folk poems formed in the middle of the 19th century by Elias Lönrot. Following a national competition in 1891 Gallen-Kallela illustrated this national epic known as the Kaleval, the vivid images of which soon became widely known throughout Finland. He also made a significant contribution to the Finnish Pavilion at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 in which he painted frescoes on Kalevala themes in the main dome, as well as designing textiles and furniture. His furniture designs were made by the Iris company, founded by a close friend, Louis Sparre. Like many other ventures associated with Arts and Crafts, the Iris company was concerned with the production of well-designed, well-made furniture and ceramics. Gallen-Kallela's designs at Paris 1900 attracted considerable attention leading to the award of a number of Gold and Silver Medals at the exhibition. He worked in a wide range of design media, including ryiji rugs, which he modernized using geometric motifs derived from the Finnish landscape. His distinctive contribution to Finnish culture is preserved in the Gallen-Kallela Museum, which was originally built by him as a studio and family home between 1911 and 1913 and now contains a large body of his work, including paintings, graphics, textiles, jewellery, stained glass, and architectural designs.

Despite having studied and lived several times in France, made friends there, decorated the Finnish pavilion for the Exposition universelle of 1900 and participated in the Finnish exhibition for the Salon d’Automne in 1908, Gallen-Kallela has never enjoyed a retrospective in our country up to now. The bibliography is just as poor : there has not been a single publication on his work written entirely in French. This is indeed disappointing given the fact that he was, amid a very rich generation of Finnish artists (Enckell, Edelfelt, Simberg, Halonen, the sculptor Vallgren and many others), the most emblematic of them all. Even more, on certain occasions when some of the painter’s works were included in thematic exhibitions, they were not always welcomed accordingly : for example, and we omit the author’s name in an act of kindness, the statement made in 1998 by a "critic" during the exhibition Visions du nord at the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, which presented some of Gallen-Kallela’s canvases : "The Finnish Gallen-Kallela, known for finding his inspiration in the ’national’ legends of the Kalevala, here, is just a painter of colour-prints [chromos] opposing the sensuality of ice cream of a frozen nature to big-game souvenirs brought back from Kenya". It goes without saying that the artist deserved much more than the indifference or pedantry shown until today. The remarkable exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay, which opened first in Helsinki and will then move on to Düsseldorf in June, finally pays due tribute to Gallen-Kallela’s work.
The curators have made a sound decision in restricting the selection to works of the highest quality ; as in the case of any prolific artist, the artistic level can sometimes fluctuate and a monographic exhibition of exhaustive range can dull the image of the painter by reducing the impact of the show’s theme (see the exhibition on Théo van Rysselberghe at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 2006). Here, as in the case of Willumsen or Hodler, the Musée d’Orsay and its partners have selected a series of masterpieces for each period and/or theme : almost 90 items (including decorative arts) illustrate the artistic itinerary and the painter’s unique personality.

Vedic Egypt

(This and more info on the Ancient World's Vedic Heritage can be found @ http://www.vedica.net/) Around four thousand years ago, the Hurrians (The Hari) controlled an important empire called Mitanni. It is principally among the Mitanni that Vedic Aryan names and words occur....In a famous treaty between the Hittite ruler Suppiluliuma and the Mitanni king, Mattiwaza,(Mattiraja) about 1370 BC, the Vedic gods Mithra, Varuna, Indra and the twin Nasatyas are mentioned. Thus in the Mitanni kingdom Aryan gods were worshipped as well as Mesopotamian deities, which proves an Aryan Vedic element." In a famous tablet, we have the seal of Prince Suttarna, son of Kirta, King of Mittani in which two lions are defeated by a central single human- headed lion-in bird costume;mid second millennium BC.

In particular treaty, between the Hittite King Shuppilulima and Mattiwaza (Mattiraja), king of the Hurrian (Hari)kingdom of Mitanni circa 1350 BC, listed among the divine witnesses "Mitra-ash, Uruwana, Indra, and the Nashatiyanu gods, the very Mithra, Varuna, Indra, and the Nasatya gods of the Vedic pantheon"

Another treatise from the State Archives of the Hittite Empire was discovered in Boghaz-keui in modern Turkey. It is a treatise on chariot racing and it uses Sanskrit words such as "Aikavartana=One Turn, Teravartana=Three Turns, Panchavartana=Five Turns, Sattavartana=Seven Turns."

Excavations in El-Amarna in Egypt have yeilded the fact that about the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C., Kings and Princes with typical Vedic names were ruling in the region of modern day Syria. Some of the names are Artamanya, Aryavirya, Yashodatta and Suttarna.

From Mitannian proper names such as Shuwardatta one can also infer the presence of the Vedic Sun God Surya in the Mitanni pantheon. Surya was also worshiped by the Vedic Aryan Kings of Babylon, the Kassites, by the name of Suryash.

According to ancient records, 3400 years ago,Egyptian Emperor Menkheperura or Thutmose the IV, married a daughter of King Artatma. Artatma was the King of the Vedic Mittani Kingdom, situated in the Upper Euphrates river area. As mentioned before, the Mittani are universally recognized as Sanskrit speakers and followers of Vedic Dharma and Culture. This is evidenced in the various ancient tablets etc. that have been found by archeologists.

We know from a letter addressed by Dushratta, king of Mitanni- Artatama's grandson,-written to Akhnaton,that six times had Thotmose the Fourth made his request, but all in vain. Mitanni was a small kingdom; nothing to be compared with the mighty Egyptian Empire. Some suggest concerns about the Egyptian King's lack of Vedic culture was the basis for King Artatama's repeated refusal to give his daughter in marriage to the most powerful monarch of his times.Not until the seventh asking, did King Artatma agree to the marriage proposal.The Ancient records state, "after the seventh asking,the king of Mitanni gave his daughter to the king of Egypt."

The new Queen outwardly forsook her Vedic/Sanskrit name and adopted an Egyptian one, more in keeping with her new position- Mutemuya, or "Mut in the sacred bark"-and is styled upon the monuments as "hereditary princess, Great Lady, presiding over the South and over the North." Of her personality and actual influence nothing is known. It can only be surmised that she would, in her new home, feel herself drawn to Vedic dieties such as the Sun-God Surya,which the Greeks were one day to call Heliopolis-to Ra- Horakhti of the Two Horizons.The Egyptian's called the Sun-God Atem or Aton. Most probably, she could relate to the fiery Disk of Aton,-much like her native Aryan gods Mithra and Surya, rather than replace their worship with the exalted Amon, the tribal god of Thebes. Her real, undeniable contribution to the further history of Egypt (and of religious thought) lies however in the fact that she gave birth to King Amenhotep the Third or Amenhotep the Magnificent.

Amenhotep the Third, married one of the most remarkable feminine characters of Antiquity, Tiy, daughter of Yuaa and of Tuau, or Tuaa. Although Yuaa was a priest of the age-old Egyptian fertility-god, Min, he was a foreigner "from North Syria" or, to be more precise, from the Vedic Mitanni Kingdom.During this time in Egyptian history, the ruling aristocracy of Egypt,including the king, were of mixed Egyptian and Mittani ancestry. Sir Flinders Petrie holds Yuaa to have been one of those numerous allied or vassal princes that were then brought up at the Egyptian Court.

Scholars are not sure whether Queen Tiy's mother, Tuau or Tuaa, who, according to most scholars, was of royal descent, was a full- blooded Egyptian or partly or wholly Mitannian inspite of her Egyptian name. In a letter sent by Dushratta, king of Mitanni, to Akhnaton, Tiy is called my sister, which would indicate that she herself was, through one of her parents at least, if not through both, was of royal Mitannian blood.

Not enough has been written about the probable Vedic influence of the many Mitannians who lived at the Egyptian Court. In particular, not enough is publicly known about the influence of the Vedic Mittani in Amenhotep the Third's "house of women"-upon the education of the young prince who was to ascend the throne as Amenhotep the Fourth. He has become immortal under the name of Akhnaton, the well known father of King Tutankamen.

What has been virtually ignored are the deep Vedic roots of Akhnaton. On his Father's side, his Grandmother was Mittani, and his Father was half Mittani. On his mother's side, his Grandfather was Mittani, his Grandmother at least half Mittani and his own Mother was half or maybe a full blooded Mittani. Since there is no doubt as to the Vedic/Aryan identity of the Mittani, we can be confidant of the fact that Akhnaton was strongly influenced by Vedic Culture. This explains the many similarities between his religion of the Sun and Vedic Spirituality.

His devotion to One Supreme Godhead has also been recognized to have impacted Moses and the religion of Judaism and Christianity. What is not very well known, is the Vedic Basis and nature of Akhnaton's philosophy and religion.This is another very important link between Vedic Culture, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Akhnaton was born in the beautiful Charuk palace, in Thebes, in or shortly after1395 B.C.,-(some scholars place his birth a few years later.)At the young age of 12, Akhnaton was crowned King of Egypt. Records show that in the beginning, he merely reigned, while his Mitanni Mother, Queen Tiy, governed.The King of the Mitanni, King Dashratha (Dushratta),writing to congratulate him on his accession, addresses himself to Queen Tiy, not to Akhnaton directly. Even in later letters of this period, Dashratha writes to Akhnaton advising him to"refer to his mother" about important matters.

The evidence proving the Vedic influence-via the Mitanni- on Akhnaton is beyond questioning. In fact, not only were a majority of his relatives Mitanni, his wife was also a Mitanni princess, the daughter of King Dashratta, the famous Nefertiti. It is a well known fact that she, along with Akhnaton, were acting in the role of High Priest and Preistess in the religion of Aton. It has erroneously been stated that Aton's worship was"invented" by pharaoh Amenhotep IV/ Akhenaten. However, beginning with Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, Aten enjoyed a higher level of worship.

At the age of eighteen years, he came into complete power of the Kingdom. It was at this time that he proclaimed his faith in One God- The Sun, which he designated by the name of Aton, ie. The Disk or Fiery Orb. He publicly proclaimed his faith in Aton, as the God of Gods. Some have claimed that as a Sun worshipper, Akhnaton was more of an Animist Nature worshiper rather than a devotee of a Supreme Godhead. However Akhnaton's own words confirm that this is not the case. Akhnaton spoke of the Sun disk as being the Eye of Aton and a representative of Aton's Power. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Sun is described as one of the unlimited eyes of God's Universal Form. In the Brahma-Samhita the Sun is also described as the Eye of God.Akhnaton's reverance of the Sun is properly understood in this context.

The symbol of Aton, as presented by Akhnaton, was an image of the Sun Disc with many sunrays extending out, ending in hands, in a kind of triangle shape. Some scholars have also pointed out that the shape of the Pyramids represents the Sun's beams shining down to Earth, in a triangle shape, with the top being the Source and spreading out ever wider as it reaches the Earth.

The similarity between Akhnaton's Aton and Surya is indeed striking. The Sanskrit description of the Divine source of light corresponds perfectly with the picture of Aton given in the Egyptian King's hymns.

"As the Vivifier and Quickener, He raises His long arms of gold in the morning, rouses all beings from their slumber, infuses energy into them, and buries them in sleep in the evening."(From a Vedic prayer to Sun God.) This description also fits perfectly with the carvings of Aton as the Solar disc extending its golden arms to the Earth. Archeologists have confirmed that all these images and engravings were covered in gold at one time.

Also according to Akhnaton, Aton as the Supreme Godhead, was imbued with both the male and female principles. He says to Aton,"Father and Mother of all that You have made." This paralels with the Vedic terms for the Sun,Savita(male) and Savitri(female)or the Sun and the Sun's energy.

Akhnaton's Hymn to Aton also shows a remarkable scientific understanding of the Sun's role in the functioning of life on the planet as a whole. Some see his religion as " a philosophic and scientific revolt against religion," rather than a new religion. One scholar, H.R.Hall sees Akhnaton as "History's first scientific mind," due to his scientific understanding of the Sun and its relation with the organic world. However, those versed in Vedic Spirituality know that true religion is based on scientific principles of reality. As a follower of Vedic Dharma, Akhnaton was aware of this and many other scientific and spiritual facts.

Accompanying Akhnaton's name in every inscription of his reign, apart from the early ones, is the term "Ankh-em-Maat" or "Living in Truth." In a tomb of one of his followers an inscription was found, "The King has put the truth into me, and to lie is an abomination." (From the tomb of a courtier named Ay.) As we know Satya, or Truth, is also one of the main points in Vedic culture. To this very day the motto of India/Bharat is "Satyam Eva Jayate."

I see it as a powerful affirmation of the truth, that the most spectacular and famous find in Egyptian history was the discovery of the tomb of Akhnaton's son, Tutankhamon. The Universe has a wonderful way of bringing Truth and Justice to light. After Akhnaton's death, the priests of Amon, did their best to obliterate the memory of Akhnaton and his religion of Aton. All his monuments and inscriptions were torn down and the stones were all reused. However this very act of desecration is the very thing that has preserved Akhnaton's story for thousands of years.

When all of his inscriptions and carvings were reused, they were hidden away from not only the eyes of the Egyptian people, but also from the erosive effects of the environment. The newly carved inscriptions and carvings of his enemies soon withered away under the effects of the sun, wind and rain.

Another important point to remember, is that modern scholars, though able to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics, they are only guessing at the pronunciation. They have no way to ascertain the vowel sounds as spoken by the ancient Egyptians. Thus we come across such a variety of spellings of terms like Ra or Re, Ikhnaton, Akhnaton, Akhnaten, Aten, Aton, Yiten etc. The fact is, it was only through the discovery of the Rosetta stone,that scholars were able to finally understand the hieroglyphics. They were able to compare them with the other two known languages on the stone. IF ONLY THE SCHOLARLY WORLD COULD UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT THE VEDIC RECORD IS THE ROSSETA STONE TO ALL THE MYSTERIES OF HISTORY, SCIENCE AND CULTURE, HUMANITIES IGNORANCE OF ITS OWN PAST WOULD BE LIFTED.