The Saimaa Seal Trail art path point 5

PUUMALA ART PATH

Geological heritage in the Finnish landscape art

Jagged rock formations

Magnus von Wright (1805-1868): Landscape Study, Road and Mossy Rocks (32.9x41.4 cm), Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery 

During the Ice Age, the continental glacier flowed under pressure and the water freezing in rock cracks quarried large pieces of rock, which were carried along with the flowing ice. Such large rock boulders carried by the glacier are called erratic boulders and are a common theme in Finnish landscape paintings.

Magnus von Wright’s sketch depicts a broken erratic boulder along a dirt road. A similar set of splintered boulders can also be found at one of the Saimaa Geopark sites, namely the Rakokivet boulders in Puumala. Small caves with a mysterious atmosphere have formed between the Rakokivet boulders.

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THE SAIMAA SEAL TRAIL ART PATH

Finnish landscape art has through the ages depicted lakes, sparkling rapids, rocky cliffs, winding esker ridges, erratic boulders and bouldery insides of the woods. Many of the paintings also outline the geology of the landscape quite accurately when viewed with “geological glasses”. Let's follow the path through the landscapes of the Saimaa seal trail, combining geology and art! Along the path, there are eight checkpoints through which the geological secrets of landscape paintings are revealed.