Artists of Liminka
Kaarlo Kramsu
Poet and newspaper journalist Kaarlo Kramsu was born in 1855 in Oulu, where his father, Anders Kramsu — the son of a tenant farmer — had moved from Liminka. The Kramsu family belonged to one of Liminka’s old founding family lines, mentioned in sources dating back to the 1500s. Kramsu is remembered especially for his profoundly tragic poems about the Cudgel War. One of the most extensive is Hannu Krankka, a ballad recounting Krankka’s victorious battle against the bailiff Abraham Melkiorinpoika at Tarharanta. The poem strongly expresses Kramsu’s Ostrobothnian identity.
His other poetry is marked by pessimism, with a minimal and striking style. Recurring themes include helplessness and a deep sense of abandonment.
Heikki Toppila
Author Heikki Toppila (1886–1963) was related to opera singer Abraham Ojanperä and poet Kaarlo Kramsu. Although he trained as a teacher, he devoted himself entirely to writing from 1924 onward. As early as 1913 he wrote a poem about his local surroundings titled Aavikon laulu (The Song of the Desert). His first book was a collection of short stories, Helvetin koira (Hellhound), published in 1920.
As a writer of folk depictions, Toppila drew inspiration from the people, landscapes, and traditions of Liminka. He even travelled around the region to interview locals and gather material. Altogether he published ten works. The most distinctive is the 1926 novel Auringon nousun maahan (To the Land of the Sunrise), which critics described as a “renaissance of folk depictions.”
Vilho Lampi
Painter Vilho Lampi (1898–1936), known as “The Painter of the Expanse,” is one of the best‑known Finnish artists of the 1930s. Born in Oulu, he created nearly all of his work while living in Liminka. Despite his short and intense career, his art developed through three distinct periods, all marked by a strong, personal style.
His first period was influenced by the Expressionism of the November Group, during his studies at the drawing school in Helsinki from 1922 to 1925. The second, known as the heroic period, produced large works characterized by wild brushwork and dark humour.
In 1931 Lampi travelled to Paris on a study trip. After this, his paintings shifted toward small, detailed, and calm sceneries with strong emotional resonance. After his death, Lampi was nearly forgotten, but a series of memorial exhibitions beginning in 1953 sparked a renewed appreciation of his work, including international recognition.
Author Paavo Rintala wrote a biography of Lampi in 1959, Jumala on kauneus (God is Beauty). Lampi’s life has also been portrayed in television films, a stage play, and two biographies. The Vilho Lampi Museum is located in the Vanha Liminka Museum Area in Kivikoulu, surrounded by the landscapes he often painted.
Abraham Ojanperä
Singer and vocal pedagogue Abraham Ojanperä was born into poverty in 1856. His education was funded by the people of Liminka: he first studied to become a teacher in Jyväskylä and then continued his singing studies in Helsinki. After his debut concert in 1882, he went on to study further in Dresden. He was even offered a position at the Cologne Opera, but chose instead to return to Finland to become a solo singing teacher at the Helsinki Music Academy.
He held this position for 30 years and was highly respected as a singing pedagogue. Ojanperä also served as a cantor and hymn teacher at the Johannes Church in Helsinki. During summers he lived in Liminka at his estate, Aappola, now a museum. He also performed concerts in Liminka, usually in the local church.
Ojanperä retired in 1915 due to declining health and died in Liminka on 26 February 1916. The story of Ojanperä and his beloved friend, teacher Katri Tuori, is told in the film Ruusu ja kulkuri (The Rose and the Wanderer), filmed largely in Liminka with the support of local residents.
Tuulimylly - The Windmill
Tuulimylly (The Windmill)
1928
oil painting
It is notable that Vilho Lampi sometimes painted many versions of the same subject—some that differ significantly and others where the differences are found only in the details. Lampi would observe the scenery or a specific subject from different angles, lighting conditions, and seasons. The windmill is a subject of which Lampi painted multiple variations of studies.
The Windmill (1928) is part of the collection of the Vilho Lampi Museum, and it depicts a windmill located near the church hill in Liminka. The specific location of the painting may be identified by the Liminganjoki River in the background and the shoreline farther on the horizon. The artist has used a clear division of the pictorial field as the basis of the composition. The building and the shapes of the landscape can be perceived as geometric basic structures. Painted in a different location a year later, Mylly ja Aurinko (The Mill and the Sun) represents Lampi’s heroic period more clearly.
Pitäjän keisari - The Emperor of the Parish
Pitäjän keisari (The Emperor of the Parish)
1930
oil on plywood
The Emperor of the Parish (1930) is owned by the municipality of Liminka. Lampi himself called the painting The Emperor of the Province; however, it is currently known by another name. In the painting, Lampi is wearing the same hat and the same blue jacket with decorated cuffs as in Sianhirtto (The Pig-Hanging). Both works convey arrogance and defiance.
ampi is looking over his shoulder toward the viewer. The remark “others do what they can, I do what I want” is conveyed in the painting with striking clarity. Because of the position of the body, the facial expression, and the attitude it communicates, the mood of the painting is foppish despite the everyday attire. In the background, one can see the ceiling beams of his summer atelier, which create strong diagonal lines in the composition. The self‑portrait was painted during his heroic period. In this period, the shades are warm and earthy, the scale of the works is monumental, and the style is expressionistic. This painting is one of Lampi’s best‑known self‑portraits.
Lakeuden mänty - The Pine Tree of the Expanse
Lakeuden mänty (The Pine Tree of the Expanse)
1928
oil painting
The Pine Tree of the Expanse (1928) depicts the Ostrobothnian countryside. At the same time, it honours the tree growing next to the hay barn—standing alone, yet tall and strong. Even today, this pine grows on the southern side of Rantatie Road, and it is protected. In the background, one can see the buildings of Rasila.
Art history offers countless examples of artists expressing their inner mindset through the motif of an island or a tree. Perhaps the same is true for Lampi in this painting. The work may be viewed as a kind of landscape of the mind, an allegory of the artist’s life in the countryside. His creative force was unlike that of others.
In 1928, this study of a landscape is realistic in style, and one cannot detect the strong expressionism seen in other paintings from Lampi’s heroic period. Instead, there are Cézanne‑like geometric structures in the forms of nature.
Viljan puinti - Grain Treshing
Viljan puinti (Grain Treshing)
1924
oil on canvas
This painting, owned by the Vilho Lampi Museum, is almost an abstract work from the early years of Lampi’s artistic career. At this time he was studying at the Finnish Art Society’s Drawing School in Helsinki. This may explain why the painting and its composition are experimental. Stylistic parallels can be found in the early works of the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky and in the Cubism of the French painter Georges Braque.
In Cubism, the subject is broken down, analysed, and reassembled in a simplified form. Lampi has observed threshing from several different angles. In the left corner, a horse stands in front of a carriage. Above it, a person is pushing grain into the machine. On the opposite side, another person is bringing grain to be threshed. The artist has not used perspective, and therefore no depth is created. He mixed sand into the oil paint to give texture to the forms.
Ikkuna Pariisista - The Window from Paris
Ikkuna Pariisista (The Window from Paris)
1931
oil painting
When one observes the view from the window, even from the first glance one can recognize that this is not a view painted in Finland. Lampi’s Parisian courtyard eminates mediterranian feeling with its plants and wooden window coverings. It is likely that the artist painted this looking through his hotel room window. He likely stayed in Hotel Odessa along Rue dOdessa and in a hotel named Rue Delambre. Both are located in Montparnasse.
In Paris, the heroic expressionism of the artist ceded and the colour pallete lightened. The change in his style, visual language and shades may be observed in this painting. Strong paint strokes and dark colours were replaced by vivid colours and smooth style of painting.
Tahkooja - Grinder
Tahkooja (Grinder)
1924
oil on canvas
In the year this work was painted, Vilho Lampi studied at the Drawing School of the Finnish Art Society. During the summer, he lived with his parents on his home farm in Matinlauri. The young artist participated actively in farm work, yet still found time to paint. It is likely that, as in many of Lampi’s works, the people on the farm served as models for this painting. Sometimes they posed for portraits; at other times they were immortalized in the midst of their work. The artist often sketched his subjects in pencil, as evidenced by a sketch from the same year depicting a man carving wood.
The farmer is shown hunched over the grindstone. A girl with her back to the viewer observes his work. The visual language of the painting is rough and earthy in tone, reminiscent of the November Group. The subject matter and execution connect it to Finnish depictions of labour and folk life, typically represented by the realistic works of Juho Rissanen.
Viimeinen tuomio - The Last Judgement
Viimeinen tuomio (The Last Judgement)
1924
oil on canvas
It is typical of Lampi’s production that he painted several versions of the same subject. Already during his study years, he participated in art competitions for which he created many different variations. As an artist, he did not compromise and wanted to ensure that he achieved the best possible final result. Six of his works depict The Last Judgment based on the Bible. In art history, the most famous executions of this subject include Michelangelo’s fresco from 1535–1541 in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Lampi’s depiction is not narrative, yet it conveys details from Hell.
In the composition and use of colour, one can find connections to the November Group and especially to the work of its leader, Tyko Sallinen. Sallinen established a distinctly Finnish expressionistic expression in art. The visual language and earthy colours of the painting align with the ideals of the November Group. In a parallel painting owned by the Oulu Art Museum, the basic elements remain the same, yet differences in composition and detail can be observed.
Äidin haudalla - By Mother’s Grave
Äidin haudalla (By Mother’s Grave)
1934
oil on plywood
This monumental painting is Lampi’s last artwork. In the painting, Lampi’s brother Martti and his children are grieving the passing of the family’s mother, Brita, who died of pneumonia in 1930. The father, Esko, and the children Maija‑Liisa and Martta stand by the grave. The mother has been buried, and grief is strongly present in the moment. The father wraps his hardened hands around the shoulders of the smallest child as if to protect her. Only five days before the mother’s death, the twins Pentti and Martti were born and remained at home. The artist sketched the moment from memory and continued working after the family moved to Vilho’s parents’ home farm, Matinlauri. Far on the horizon, one can see the shoreline, revealing that the artist placed his models authentically in the Rantakylä Cemetery.
Vilho Lampi painted three works on the same subject, differing in style and detail. The earliest one, in the New Objectivity style, was painted after Lampi’s trip to Paris. Its current location is unknown; however, it is likely that the artist destroyed it himself. This painting, from the collection of the Vilho Lampi Museum, is the most dramatic and expressive of the three. The Oulu Art Museum owns the last of the three. The sketch‑like and unfinished version is also in the style of New Objectivity, and it is the final version of this study. It is also significant in terms of collection history, as it is catalogued as artwork number one of the art museum.
Vilho Lampi - Life and Art
Vilho Lampi 1898 – 1936: Life and Art
1898
Vilho Henrik was born on 19 July 1898 as the firstborn child of Anton Henrik Lampi (18 January 1875, Pori – 29 May 1929, Liminka) and Maria Sofia Lampi (née Pattinen, 17 July 1875, Oulu – 18 January 1951). Anton and Maria were married in Oulu on 24 October 1897.
1898–1909
The family lived together with Maria Lampi’s father, Antti Pattinen (Tuorila), at Köyhäinhuoneenkatu 1 in Oulu, which today corresponds to Koulukatu 5. The wooden house was still standing in the early 1970s.
In Oulu, Vilho’s younger siblings were born: Martta (1899), Martti (1900), Arvo (1902), Ester (1903), Erkki (1905), and the twins Rafael and Anna‑Liisa (1907).
1909–1914
Anton Lampi bought a large farm in Maria’s home parish of Liminka. The farm, Matinlauri, was located in the village centre along Rantatie Road by the Liminkajoki River. The family moved to Liminka on 23 February 1909.
In Liminka, the youngest children were born: Antero (1911) and Eino Esko (1914).
A 1930 description of Matinlauri states: the farm covered 498.75 hectares, of which 0.1 ha was garden, 54 ha farmland, 21.84 ha natural meadow, 23 ha pasture, and 399.83 ha woodland and fallow. The farmland consisted of flat clay soil. During the estate settlement, 30 ha of land were cleared.
In 1930 the cultivated areas were: 2.7 ha rye, 6.5 ha oats, 2.35 ha barley, 0.75 ha potatoes, 0.5 ha root vegetables, 38.5 ha hay and pasture, and 2.7 ha fallow.
The homestead stood at the edge of the fields, along the road, in a beautiful park by the Liminkajoki River. The cowshed had a water line and automatic drinking bowls. The farm kept 4 horses, 18 cows, 1 bull, 10 pigs, and 10 hens. Products sold included grain, milk, meat, potatoes, and feed. The farm had coniferous mixed forest. Power sources included an internal‑combustion engine and a tractor. (Suomen maatilat, osa V, Porvoo 1933).
1915–1920
In 1915–1916 Lampi studied general subjects at the Liminka Folk College: history, Finnish, poetry, and singing. He was especially interested in literature.
He completed his military service in the Tampere Jäger Battery in 1919–1920, where he became acquainted with Martti Tarvainen (1879–1985) from Muhos, who had studied at the drawing school in Turku.
1921–1925
Lampi began his studies at the Finnish Art Society’s Drawing School in Helsinki in autumn 1921, graduating from the painting class in 1924. He continued his studies in spring 1925. He did well: he received stipends in autumn 1921 and spring 1922, and won prizes in composition competitions five times.
In 1923–1924 he painted many works in the spirit of the November Group: girls, boys, self‑portraits, his home, and the surrounding landscape. Hyvästijättö and Viimeinen tuomio were also painted during this period.
He participated in the Exhibition of Finnish Artists in 1922, 1923, and 1925.
1925–1928
After his studies Lampi returned to Liminka, worked on his share of the large homestead, and took part in village life.
These quiet years of his artistry produced dozens of watercolours—often painted on both sides of the paper—depicting subjects close to him, as well as a few oil paintings: still lifes, interiors, figure compositions, and landscapes.
1928
Lampi participated in the opening exhibition of the Helsinki Art Hall and in the Finnish Artists’ Exhibition.
Helsinki art circles began to take notice of him. Hufvudstadsbladet published a critique with a photograph of Omakuva (Self‑Portrait), now in the Seinäjoki City collections.
He received his first artist grant from the Becker Fund and joined the Finnish Artists’ Society.
1929–1930
Vilho’s father Anton died on 29 May 1929, and Matinlauri was placed under the management of the heirs.
Lampi painted large oil works: Isäntä, Kenninkangas, Voutilan talo, and Pokkasakki.
Omakuva, Haitarinsoittaja, Puukkojunkkari, Ryhmy‑Jussi, and Mylly ja aurinko were shown in the Finnish Artists’ Exhibition and surprised critics and audiences with their size and raw power.
The years 1929–1930 have been described as Lampi’s heroic era.
The moonshine distillery at Heinijärvi, Liminka, and the related court case inspired Viinankeittäjät (1930).
In October, Lampi’s brother Martti’s wife died. Lampi painted the large work Äidin haudalla.
1931 – Private exhibition in Oulu
Lampi held his only private exhibition in Oulu from 31 January to 10 February 1931 at Kirkkokatu 10 in the Oulu Industrial Exhibition Showroom. It included 53 works.
In addition to previously exhibited paintings, it featured works such as Maakunnan keisari, Huijarit, Siltatanssi, Sianhirtto, Iankaikkinen ikävä, Vellikello, Näköala Hellaasta, and Kraatarin Antin pää.
The exhibition received local press attention, and 23 paintings were sold.
1931 – To Paris!
After the successful exhibition, Lampi travelled to Paris for two months. The journey began from Turku on 28 March and ended in Helsinki on 29 May.
In Paris he lived near the Montparnasse station at Hotel Odessa and Hotel Delambre.
He studied at Académie Scandinave, Académie Colarossi, and Académie Watteau, and visited museums and sights.
He painted oil works, watercolours, and pastels: views of the Seine, hotel‑room windows, rooftops, and a few still lifes.
Home in Matinlauri
In July Lampi travelled with friends to Petsamo (Pechengsky District), where he painted several dark watercolours of a Skolt Sámi village, the Trifona and Parkkina fells, and local churches.
In autumn he painted Sininen ämpäri (The Blue Bucket) and Iris‑asetelma (Iris Still Life).
His works were included in Finnish art exhibitions in Belgium and the Netherlands.
1933 – Portraits
At the annual exhibition of Finnish art, the first version of Äidin haudalla (By Mother’s Grave) was shown, and a photograph of it was published in Helsingin Sanomat.
The Ostrobothnian themes of his earlier works had caused some viewers to shy away from what they saw as naivety and primitivism, and his works were criticized as shallow.
He painted several portraits of children, such as Riisitautinen poika and Lukeva poika.
Lampi won 3rd place in a ducat competition with a self‑portrait and received a grant from the Kordelin Foundation.
He participated actively in village events, giving a speech titled Miehen tahto (The Will of a Man) at a nationalist folk festival.
In July he was a founding member of the local IKL foundation.
1934 – Landscapes in Liminka
Lampi painted the landscapes around Matinlauri intensively (e.g., Raita, Kaitera, Talvimaisema).
These works were shown in the Finnish Artists’ Exhibition and in a Finnish art exhibition in the Soviet Union, which continued the next year in Latvia.
The self‑portrait awarded the previous year was archived in the Ateneum Art Museum collections.
Lampi received 5th place in a nationwide art competition and a Kordelin Foundation grant.
1935
Lampi painted Saunan katto, Talvinen näköala, and completed the second version of Äidin haudalla (now in the Vilho Lampi Museum). He began a larger version of the same subject.
It was a busy exhibition year.
At a general exhibition of the Art Academy, the portraits Vanha emäntä and Lapsifantasia received devastating criticism.
Despite this, Lampi also gained recognition: he won second prize in a nationwide art competition and received a Hoving Foundation travel stipend.
He planned a trip to Italy and began studying the language.
1936
Only one painting is signed as completed in 1936: the third version of Äidin haudalla, now in the Oulu Art Museum.
Lampi drowned himself in the Oulujoki River at Merikoski on 17 March, the same day his passport issued for the Paris trip expired.
The funeral was held on 12 May, and the “painter of the expanse” was buried in Rantakylä Cemetery in Liminka. His tombstone bears a small bronze relief by his friend Martti Tarvainen.
Artist Vilho Lampi
When the life of the Liminka painter Vilho Lampi ended in 1936 in the Oulu Merikoski rapids, he and his art were forgotten, and even art histories failed to mention him. In Liminka he was well known, but his value was not appreciated. The works he left behind ended up scattered everywhere—into basements and storage rooms, even used as cleaning boards or pieces of furniture, as many were painted on plywood.
Almost twenty years later, between 1953 and 1957, a series of memorial exhibitions held across Finland brought Lampi back into the public eye. The re‑evaluation of his work established him as one of the leading painters of the 1930s, and he also gained international recognition.
Lampi was deeply attached to the expanse of the Ostrobothnian plains and to Liminka, where he created almost his entire body of work. He drew inspiration from the everyday life of his surroundings. On the family farm he worked like any other member of the household, painting only during the little free time he had—often on summer nights.
As a young man, Lampi took an active part in local events: he gave speeches, acted in plays, and even wrote political texts. His interest in art surfaced later; at the age of 24 he suddenly decided to study art at the Finnish Art Society’s Drawing School in Helsinki. There, his exceptional talent was recognized, and he won several awards in the school’s competitions.
Lampi’s artistic career was relatively short. Over fourteen years he went through three distinct stylistic periods. He was highly adaptable and absorbed influences boldly, yet always transformed them into his own unmistakable style.
In his early period (1922–1925) he was strongly expressive, inspired by the expressionism of Sallinen, Cawén, and the November Group. After this intense creative phase, he took a break of several years, during which he painted only small watercolours.
His second period, the so‑called heroic period (1929–1931), produced large canvases of human figures in which opposites were emphasized. Dramatic perspectives and forceful subjects created a rebellious tone. These works clearly reflect the political atmosphere of the time.
In 1931 Lampi travelled to Paris to study, and his artistic outlook changed completely. The expressionism inspired by Munch and van Gogh during the heroic period gave way to a more classical and New Objectivity‑influenced style. His subjects became everyday still lifes and child portraits, and eventually naïvely painted landscapes with a peculiar, sombre, psychologically heavy atmosphere.
In 1935 Lampi shared second place with Sam Vanni in a national art competition. Determined to win the following year, he began a new work, but it remained unfinished: he died at the age of 37.
In recent decades, much has been written about Lampi, and several television programs have been produced. In 1967, Eeli Aalto’s biography and TV documentary Vilho Lampi – Lakeuden maalari (Vilho Lampi – The Painter of the Expanse) were released.
Paavo Rintala’s 1959 novel Jumala on kauneus (God Is Beauty), based on Lampi’s paintings, is not a biography but a meditation on experiencing beauty. The novel inspired Hannu Heikinheimo’s TV film Jumala on kauneus and P. H. Nordgren’s “Elegia Vilho Lammelle” (An Elegy to Vilho Lampi).
Exhibitions
1922
Finnish Artists’ 32nd Exhibition, Stenman Atelier, Helsinki
1923
Finnish Artists’ 33rd Exhibition, Stenman Atelier, Helsinki
1925
Finnish Artists’ 35th Exhibition, Stenman Atelier, Helsinki
1926
Finnish Artists’ 36th Exhibition, Stenman Atelier, Helsinki
1928
Art Hall Opening Exhibition, Helsinki
Finnish Artists’ 37th Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
1930
Finnish Artists’ 39th Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
Free Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
Turku Art Society 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Turku Art Museum
1931
Vilho Lampi Private Exhibition, Industrial Exhibition Showroom, Oulu
Finnish Art Group Exhibition, Antwerp, Belgium, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1932
Finnish Artists’ 40th Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
1933
Finnish Artists’ 41st Exhibition, Stenman Atelier, Helsinki
Finnish Art Academy Group Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
1934
Finnish Artists’ 42nd Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
Finnish Art Exhibition, Moscow, Soviet Union
1935
Finnish Art Exhibition, Riga, Latvia
Finnish Artists’ 43rd Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
Finnish Art Academy Group Exhibition, Art Hall, Helsinki
Finnish Art Exhibition, Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg, Germany
Finnish Artists’ Group Exhibition, Exhibition Hall, Helsinki
Awards
1933 2nd place in The Art Academy ducat contest
1934 5th place in national art competition
1935 2nd place in national art competition
Grants
1928 Becker Fund
1933 Kordelin Foundation
1934 R. Ahlström Fund
1934 Kordelin Foundation
1935 Hoving Foundation
Artwork in Museum Collections
Aineen Taidemuseo, Tornio
Amos Anderson taidemuseo, Helsinki
Helsingin kaupungin taidemuseo, kokoelma Bäcksbacka
K.H. Renlund taidemuseo, Kokkola
Kuopion taidemuseo, Saastamoisen säätiö
Lampi-museo, Liminka
Mikkelin taidemuseo
Nelimarkka museo, Alajärvi
Oulun taidemuseo
Suomen taiteen museo Ateneum
Tampereen Nykytaiteen museo
Turun taidemuseo
