The Bride's Song

Gunnar Berndtson is one of the few Finnish artists to have attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The Bride's Song is Berndtson's best-known work. It is remarkable for the skill with which he depicts textiles and other details. Unlike his earlier paintings, this has a contemporary rather than a historical setting and bears some signs of plein-air painting, which had just come into fashion at the time. Berndtson used his artist friends as models: Ville Vallgren is on the right, and Aukusti Uotila can just be seen on the left. The symbolism of plants and fruits refers to the transition from youth to marriage and motherhood. The attraction of the painting is in the way the viewer's eye is drawn by the bride's gaze.