Runollinen todellisuus

Runollinen todellisuus (Poetic Reality) offers a fresh perspective on the art, fashion, and design of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. This period is often associated with austere functionalism, flapper fashion, muted landscapes, and abstract art. Yet beneath this popular conception lay a fervent pursuit of beauty, romance, and joie de vivre. Works by French ‘poetic realist’ painters were widely collected in Finland, and many Finnish artists drew inspiration from the exuberance of Parisian post-impressionism. Among them were Tove Jansson, Yngve Bäck, Hjalmar Hagelstam, and Sam Vanni, who produced colour-drenched compositions that echoed these French influences.

Art and design of this era also looked to paradisal gardens, ornamentality, and history – three overarching themes explored in this book, which is the first ever to present robe de style dresses from 1920s Finland and Norway. Wide-hemmed dresses reinterpreted fashions of earlier centuries, just as historical motifs inspired interiors and furniture design. The era’s hunger for beauty extended across many creative fields, from horticulture and decorative design to the richly adorned painted ceramics of Birger Kaipiainen.