A Series of Lectures Online: The Encrypted Language of Images

Symbols and Stories in 15th Through 17th Century Art

The presentations shed light on what kind of symbols and allegories art has used or what the details of the paintings tell us about the thinking and culture of the era. We also get a glimpse of how colours were mixed in Rembrandt’s time.

A special area of strength of the Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation’s collection is its collection of old European art, which is significant and rare in Finnish cirtumstances. It contains about a hundred works from the 15th century through 18th century. The collection includes Dutch, Flemish, Italian and Spanish art.

Hanna Pirinen:
The Journey of Adventures to Canaan—The Story of Abraham as Told in the Old Testament

Thu 5 Feb from 4.15 pm to 5.30 pm

A large painting from 1648 depicting the progenitor Abraham and Melchizedek, the king and high priest of Salem, which is part of Serlachius’s collection, is a good example of the influence of the imagery surrounding the artist on the work of an individual artist.

Born in Amsterdam, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621–1674) was influenced by his teachers and contemporary art. Printed materials, such as picture Bibles and graphics depicting Christian themes, provided 17th-century painters with models for composition and the ewndering of details.  In the lecture, Eeckhout’s painting serves as a peephole into this diverse visual world.  The lecture is given in Finnish language.

Hanna Pirinen, PhD, Docent, works as a university researcher at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies at the University of Jyväskylä, specialising in art history. She specialises in 16th–17th century art and object tradition in Finnish and European contexts. 

Riikka Lenkkeri:
At Rembrandt’s studio as a master’s apprentice

Thu 12 Feb from 4.15 pm to 5.30 pm

Artist Riikka Lenkkeri, who is familiar with old techniques, introduces the secrets of 17th-century oil painting through the work of Gerbrandt van den Eeckhout (1621–1674). Eeckhout, who was born in Amsterdam, was a student of Rembrandt in 1635–40.

Eeckhout’s painting Abraham Meets Melchizedek (1648) is an iconic work in Serlachius’ collection of old art, and from early February on display at Serlachius Manor after a multi-year conservation and research project. The sky in the painting has been damaged over the years and its original tone has changed. Respecting the old methods, Lenkkeri has painted a strip of painting of the sky as it may have originally been. The lecture is given in Finnish language.

Artist Riikka Lenkkeri graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Genoa (L’Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti) in 1995. Her work reflects her knowledge of European painting: she became acquainted with old painting techniques and especially the Italian painting tradition already during her studies. Lenkkeri has a 30-year career as an artist, and her works can be found in several public and private collections..

Lauri Ockenström:
The Mysteries of Creation: Symbols and Allegories in 15th–17th Century Art

Thu 26 Feb from 4.15 pm to 5.30 pm

The 15th and 17th centuries can be considered one of the Golden Ages of Symbolism and symbolic expression. In Renaissance artworks, flowers, jewels, and exotic animals are not always just decorations, but also keys to understanding the mysteries of creation and God’s purposes.

This lecture examines how animal and plant motifs were used in symbolic meanings in the art of the 15th and 17th centuries, and what kind of meanings were given to depictions of nature and the environment in the visual arts. The lecture is given in Finnish language.

PhD, Docent Lauri Ockenström works as a university lecturer in art history at the University of Jyväskylä. He specializes in the cultural history, symbolics and history of magic in the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era.

Millamari Kalliola:
Allegorical unicorn hunting in 15th–16th century art

Thu 5 Mar from 4.15 pm to 5.30 pm

Catching and hunting a unicorn were common allegorical motifs in the art of the 15th and 16th centuries. According to accounts, the hunters only caught the animal with the help of a pure virgin. In Christian allegory, hunting was compared to the incarnation of Christ, but also to sacrificial death, as the unicorn symbolised Christ and the virgin his mother, the Virgin Mary.

The motifs depicting the killing of the unicorn are very reminiscent of the Pietá motifs, in which the Virgin Mary holds the dead Jesus in her arms. A good example is a work by Cornelis Buys the Younger from the early 16th century, which is part of Serlachius’ collection. The lecture compares the work with the allegorical meanings of the unicorn hunting theme in the art of the 15th and 16th centuries. The lecture is given in Finnish language.

Millamari Kalliola, MA, is a doctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä. Her doctoral research focuses on unicorn motifs in late medieval limestone paintings in the churches of Finland and Sweden.

Laura Kuurne:
The Wise Man’s Robe – The Mystery of David Teniers’ Old Man

Tue 10 Mar from 4.15 pm to 5.30 pm

On the wall of Serlachius’ exhibition space, an old man dressed in a blue fur-trimmed jacket and hat sits studying papers at a table. David Teniers Jr. has painted several works depicting this similar figure.

Various images of scholars, alchemists, and scientists were popular in 17th-century Dutch art. The lecture sets out to find out what this old man dressed in an oriental style and the fascinating details of the picture can tell us about the era and its thinking. The lecture is given in Finnish language.

Laura Kuurne, MA, is the Head of Collections and Exhibitions at the Serlachius Museums. She has worked as a researcher and chief curator at Serlachius since 2007.