Autumn Landscape at Koli Hills

During his life, Eero Järnefelt travelled to Koli numerous times and painted dozens of Koli landscapes, which have a key role in his production. In 1910 he travelled to Koli to sketch. He was accompanied by his brother-in-law Jean Sibelius, who was composing his fourth symphony and for whom a piano was carried to the top of Koli Hill.

Autumn Landscape at Koli Hill positions us on the top of Koli Hill. From the top there is an autumn-colours view towards Lake Pielisjärvi. The gaze moves from the tops of the trees to the peaks of the hills, the blue of the lake and the far horizon. Artists of the Golden Age looked for the Finnish national landscape in unspoilt nature, Karelia and the hilly landscapes of Eastern Finland. Järnefelt’s painting features a dead standing pine as a symbol of untouched wilderness.

Järnefelt was born in Vyborg. The painting Autumn Landscape at Koli Hill was originally bought by Juho Lallukka, from whose estate the City of Vyborg acquired the work. The painting was placed in the Vyborg Art Museum, which was completed in 1930.