Lake Keitele
1905 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery, London
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About this work
- Artist
- Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931)
- Year
- 1905
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 53 × 66 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery, London
- Movement
- Symbolism
Lake Keitele lies flat and silver under a strip of bright cloud, with a wooded island and dark hills at the top and broad pale zigzag bands crossing the water where the wind meets the currents. Patches of bare canvas show through the paint. Gallen-Kallela completed it in 1905, one of four views of this remote lake in central Finland. He called the pattern Väinämöinen's wake, after the bard of the Kalevala rowing across the water, a reference loaded with the Finnish nationalism of the time. It is in the National Gallery, London.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Silver-grey and soft blue make a calm, airy lake view for a bedroom, bathroom or quiet living room. Pair it with Whistler's Nocturne in Blue and Silver: The Lagoon, Venice at 32×24 in a dark wood frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Symbolism painting
- Era
- 20th century (1905)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- living room, bedroom, bathroom, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 32×24. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Lake Keitele in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Lake Keitele painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.




















