Inspired by the nature of Kuusamo, from Akseli Gallen-Kallela to Hannu Hautala
Akseli Gallen-Kallela and his family spent the summer in Paanajärvi in Kuusamo in 1892. The iconic paintings Shepherd boy from Paanajärvi, Mäntykoski Waterfall and Black Woodpecker were created. With his works, Gallen-Kallela raised the appreciation of wilderness nature, which was neglected by cultural circles, as a source of inspiration and symbolism. In Kuusamo, the artist discovered the peculiar beauty of nature and headed towards symbolism.
Almost a hundred years later, in 1979, Hannu Hautala moved to Kuusamo to follow nature. In Kuusamo, Hautala found new perspectives for photographing nature and, among other things, the swan landing in the water, Uljas valkoinen (1996), changed the perception of nature photography and its possibilities.
Thousands of other photographers found Kuusamo in Hannu’s footsteps, and Kuusamo became the home of nature photography.
“I have received so much from Kuusamo’s nature that I feel I owe it,” says Hannu Hautala, who speaks for nature in his pictures.
The same words could have been uttered by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, and it is signed by numerous visual artists and nature photographers inspired by Kuusamo’s nature.
