Flora Day, Eero Järnefelt’s sketch for a mural

It is May. Spring-green foliage curves round to frame a scene in a park. The atmosphere is tense, the adults and children have a concentrated look on their faces. A man dressed in black, Fredrik Cygnaeus, is about to step down from the rostrum and the eyes of his audience are following him. Clear pastel colours create an impression of the air shimmering.

Eero Järnefelt’s pastel work depicts people in a park. Cygnaeus is on the right-hand side. There are listeners in the middle and on the left-hand side. There are birches in the background.
Eero Järnefelt: Flora Day, sketch, undated, pastel on paper, 83cm x 73cm, University of Helsinki. Photo: Helsinki University Museum / Timo Huvilinna.

Continue reading “Flora Day, Eero Järnefelt’s sketch for a mural”