“Those who bear the wounded angel are they honoured or destroyed?
Far beyond their comprehension are the warfares of the void”
The Wounded Angel evokes a serious and gloomy atmosphere, well no wonder, as the painter is Finish after all. Finland has a long history of wars and its people had gone through so much pain and sorrow. The sadness is palpable in the Finish spirit and it is often referred to as the melancholy. The horrible history of slaughter and torture the Finish people endured by the hands of both the Russian and Sweden century after century seemed to have abetted the destruction of their souls. The wounded angel in Hugo's painting seems …show more content…
The boy who is leading the way looks very serious as well. With his head looks down at the ground and walking carefully to avoid any obstacle. He also looks very serious and seems to be lost in thought; trying to figure out how to help this poor angel. The painting in this point of view symbolizes the suffering of Finish people, however, it could also symbolize healing. Simberg painted "The Wounded Angel" at a time when he was just recovering from a long illness. The painting in itself could represent his feeling when he was recovering at that time period. The two boys may represent Hugo himself and his brother Paul who were born in the same year and month (The Other World of Hugo Simberg, para1). His brother Paul was from Simberg's second wife; the two boys were born on 24 and 2 on June 1873 respectively. The angel seems to symbolize Hugo's healing process; her gown's tail sweeps the dirt road symbolizes how difficult the healing of his illness is. She is clutching the poles tightly as she is gathering her strength and will to be healed, however, the withering flowers in the angel's hand might foreshadow the failure of this healing process. It …show more content…
The Lutheran Cathedral, also known as St. John's Church, was built during the time when Finland was still under the rule of the Russian. The Cathedral is considered extraordinary as it is a combination of beautiful architecture, skilled craftsmanship and priceless art. Hugo Simberg painted two versions of his famous painting "The Wounded Angel"; the second version was painted a year later after the first one on the wall of the St. John's Church. The two paintings are similar but with few differences. They both have the same sad atmosphere, however, the painting in the Cathedral has two chimneys. These two chimneys symbolize Tampere itself as the major industrial center in Finland in the early 20th century (Valtonen, 2004). It seems at the beginning that the two chimneys are not that important of a detail. However, we should not forget that this version of the painting was drawn for the sake of the Cathedral which is in the factory town of Tampere. The artist seems as he wants to send a message for all those who visit the church, and this message is to show sympathy with the industrial working-class at that time. We can also interpret the painting in a whole different way. Although the church at some point of history has great power, it no longer does. Even at the time when Simber was still alive; the