By Francesca Lungarotti
‘Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary’
Blaise Pascal
Magnus, Wilhelm, and Ferdinand von Wright are key figures in the history of science and culture in 19th-century Finland and Sweden, and are deeply rooted in the Finnish national imagination.
They are sometimes considered the same person, although each had a distinct career. The brothers are best known for their paintings and prints of birds, and their scientific illustrations are famous, but they also produced works such as landscapes and portraits.
Looking at their work, we understand that their careers unfolded at the intersection of science and art, and this is certainly one of their most interesting characteristics. Although their works are stylistically considered part of the Romantic tradition, the scientific accuracy and detail of their images represent a vital documentary wealth, especially considering that they worked at a time when photography was not yet sufficiently sophisticated and when drawing and painting were the only adequate methods for visually documenting the world. Their precision and clarity in depicting the ordinary truly represent an exceptional legacy of Darwinian precision.
The von Wright brothers grew up on an estate in Haminalahti, Kuopio. The brothers’ interest in nature stemmed from their father, elder Henrik Magnus von Wright,’s hunting hobby. Adept hunters, the brothers began documenting the birds they captured. Through long periods of observing and painting birds, they acquired a vast knowledge of nature.
The eldest brother, Magnus (1805–1868), best known for his landscapes, was an influential cultural figure in Helsinki. He worked as a teacher at the University of Helsinki’s drawing school and as an expert at the Finnish Art Society. Wilhelm (1810–1887) was active primarily in Stockholm and on the island of Orust, off the west coast of Sweden. He worked as a scientific illustrator for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The most famous of the brothers was Ferdinand (1822–1906), one of the first visual artists in Finland to make a living from art. He had the longest career of the brothers and later achieved the status of “old master,” earning the respect of young artists.
Magnus and Ferdinand also made short study trips to Germany. In addition to bird paintings, their works included portraits, landscapes, and scientific illustrations of plants, butterflies, fish, and other animals.
Landscapes symbolized Finnish identity in the 19th century. Ferdinand von Wright’s View from Haminalahti (1853) prompted Zacharias Topelius, one of the era’s leading cultural figures, to write, “This painting is Finland.”
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SOURCES:
Ateneum Art Museum; The von Wright Brothers
The von Wright Brothers | Ateneum Art Museum
YouarehereHelsinki.com; Issue 4, 2017; Art Focus: Von Wright Brothers at Anteneum
ART FOCUS: Von Wright… | You Are Here | K?mp Collection Hotels
Finnish National Gallery; “Artist Brothers Magnus, Wilhelm and Ferdinand von Wright at the Intersection of Art and Science” by Anne-Maria Pennonen; November 30, 2017