?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 40,000 - $ 60,000
AKSELI GALLEN-KALLELA (1865-1931)
BIL - BOL. 1907.
34½x44½ inches, 87½x113 cm. F. Tilgmann H: Fors, Helsinki. Condition A. Framed.
This remarkable, emblematic image, is one of the most famous Finnish advertisements to the point where it was immortalized on one of the country's postage stamps in 2006. It is a graphic commercial masterpiece combining Art Nouveau and Symbolism, and stands as a prescient precursor to the sexual psychology of automobile advertising. The image was inspired by verses from the 19th century Finnish epic poem Kalevala. The poster re-tells, in startling modern form, the story of the Snatching of Kyllikki, a beautiful maiden who refused the hand of every suitor who came from around the world to woo her, until she was kidnapped by Lemminkainen who spirits her away in his sleigh. Here, Gallen-Kallela's nude maiden is a seemingly unwilling captive of a driver who we might now consider more villain than hero. The fiery red vehicle itself is given an anthropomorphic, devilish demeanor, blazing into the forefront and outshining the monochromatic figures and celestial setting.
As with any mythical artwork, there has been debate over the origin of the poster's commission. It was not designed for a specific car company, nor model vehicle. The title of the poster, which is in Swedish, translated into English simply reads "car company." Most sources have stated that the poster was commissioned by Yrjö Weilin, a car dealer who received the first driving license in Finland and was a friend of the artist. However, as his dealership was established in 1910, three years after this poster was designed, he is unlikely to have asked for the poster so early on. Another businessman has been named as the possible patron for this poster– Swedish-speaking Sergey Nikolayew, Jr., whose offices displayed this image at least until the 1950s. However, the most likely person to have commissioned the poster was Swedish Baron Carl Cederström. He founded Sweden's first car company (and taxi service) in Stockholm, Bil-Aktibolaget, whose name was trademarked as Bil-Bol. Furthermore, he exhibited his cars in the May 1907 car exposition in Stockholm.
Gallen-Kallela was born Axel Waldemar Gallén in Pori, Finland, into a Swedish-speaking family. A versatile artist, having studied drawing and painting in Paris, he was also adept in the fields of handicrafts, architecture, illustration and graphic arts. Gallen-Kallela is credited with helping to cultivate a Finnish style of art rooted in "national romanticism." He exhibited in cities such as Paris and Berlin, but was particularly connected to the culture and nature of his native Finland. He gained national recognition for his illustrations of the Kalevala, and he designed the Finnish Pavilion for the Paris Exposition of 1899. The magnificent Bil-Bol represents Gallen-Kallela's shift from realism and naturalism to Symbolism.
Rare.
MoMA 267.1986, Modern Poster 31, Art Nouveau p. 160, Plakatista Julisteeksi Cover & 12.
