Trained in Paris as a pupil of Paul Gauguin, Pekka Halonen was influenced by the artistic currents that infused Parisian creativity at the end of the 19th century: Japonism, pleinairism and synthesism. In his paintings of wild landscapes, he never ceased to capture the poetry of the passing seasons. Calling himself the ‘Painter of Snow’, he particularly excelled in depicting winter. His attachment to his native land and his love of nature led him to set up his studio, called Halosenniemi, on the shores of Lake Tuusula in southern Finland. In this haven of peace, he indulged in the simple pleasures of domestic life, tending a garden whose produce he used as motifs for compositions imbued with light and colour. This first major French retrospective of Pekka Halonen's work will show his contribution to modernism, through his synthesis of the different pictorial trends of the late nineteenth century. It will plunge visitors into the heart of Finland's sumptuous wild landscapes, immortalised by the artist, and encourage them to reflect on their preservation in the face of global warming.
General curators
Annick Lemoine, General Curator of Heritage, Director of the Petit Palais
Scientific curators
Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff, Director of the Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki
Anne-Charlotte Cathelineau, head curator of heritage, in charge of the Petit Palais sculpture collection