News RELEASE
June 16th, 2022

The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo Acquires Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s
Lake Keitele and Camille Claudel’s Perseus and the Gorgon

The National Museum of Western Art (NMWA, Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Director:
Masayuki Tanaka) has purchased the painting Lake Keitele by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (18651931) and the sculpture Perseus and the Gorgon by Camille Claudel (1864-1943).

The highly regarded Finnish painter Gallen-Kallela has been the subject of a meteoric
rise in international recognition in recent years. He created four versions of his iconic LakeKeitele composition, with the National Gallery, London version attracting massive attention bothin the UK and abroad. Along with Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi’s Interior with Ida
Playing the Piano* purchased by the NMWA in 2008, the newly acquired Gallen-Kallela work
is sure to convey Nordic painting’s fascinating aspects to museum visitors.

Perseus and the Gorgon was created by Camille Claudel, a sculptor renowned both as amajor female artist in modern era France and for her close relationship with her teacher, AugusteRodin. The NMWA continues to actively collect works by female artists, such as Berthe
Morisot’s Woman in Black (Before the Theater)**, with the newly acquired Claudel work an
important addition to this group of works. Perseus and the Gorgon will also further broaden thecontextual range of the NMWA modern sculpture collection which centers on Rodin’s works.

Gallen-Kallela’s Lake Keitele will be displayed in the special exhibition In Dialogue with
Nature – From Friedrich, Monet, and Van Gogh to Richter (June 4 – September 11, 2022).
Claudel’s Perseus and the Gorgon is currently on display in the fiscal 2022 installation of the
NMWA Permanent Collection Galleries.

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* NMWA Collection Database information on Vilhelm Hammershøi's Interior with Ida Playing the Piano:
https://collection.nmwa.go.jp/P.2008-0003.html** NMWA Collection Database information on Berthe Morisot's Woman in Black (Before the Theater):
https://collection.nmwa.go.jp/P.2017-0002.html■ Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s Lake Keitele

Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Lake Keitele
1906
Oil on canvas
61.0 x 76.2 cm
Signed and dated in lower right: "GALLÉN KALELA 1906"
P.2021-0001
About the Painting:This painting is based on the scenery that Gallen-Kallela saw from the shore of Lake Keitele incentral Finland during the summer of 1904. The lake surface occupying most of the compositionis boldly striated with a zigzag pattern of ripples, imagery said to hint at the wake of the boat2

carrying Väinämöinen, the hero of the the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. In 1909, this work
was purchased directly from the artist by the Nobel family, known for Alfred Nobel, the scientist
whose bequest led to the Nobel Prizes. It was first in the hands of Alfred's niece and theninherited by her descendants. Of the four known versions of this composition, the National
Gallery, London, version is one of that Gallery's most popular paintings.

About the Painter:
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865, Pori, Finland – 1931, Stockholm, Sweden)
Gallen-Kallela, one of Finland's most beloved painters, was active internationally fromthe end of the 19th century through the early 20th century. Both Gallen-Kallela and his friend thecomposer Sibelius created works on the Kalevala theme, which contributed greatly to thedevelopment of the independence movement of Finland then under Russian rule.

■ Camille Claudel’s Perseus and the Gorgon

Camille Claudel
Perseus and the Gorgon
1898-1905
Bronze proof with brown-green patina, unnumbered
51 x 30 x 22 cm
Sand cast by Eugène Blot, 1905-1906
Cast inscription on the back of the Perseus figure:" EUG. BLOT / 5/ BD DE LA MADELEINE"
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Artist signature on the side of the base beneath the shield: "C. Claudel"
S.2021-0001
About the Sculpture:
In her late period Claudel repeatedly turned to depictions of the Perseus legend of Greek
mythology Here Claudel created a uniquely decorative composition to depict the Gorgon, amonster whose gaze turned to stone all those who looked into its eyes, and the hero Perseus, whograsps the Gorgon's head. It is also said that the artist depicted her own face on the monster'shead. Claudel made a series of works on this subject in plaster, marble and bronze. This
sculpture is one of the rare examples of a bronze cast during the artist's life by Eugène Blot who
supported Claudel's artistic activities in her late period.

About the Sculptor:
Camille Claudel (1864, Fère-en-Tardenois, France – 1943, Montfavet, France)A groundbreaking female sculptor, Claudel is one of modern France's most important
female artists. Claudel was involved both professionally and personally with her teacher Rodin.
She eventually developed her own personal style, but her anguish over her love/hate relationshipwith Rodin and artistic problems led to mental health issues that saw her spend the latter half ofher life in an asylum. Claudel's talents were reconsidered after her death and her works with
autobiographical elements rose to particular fame.

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