Ilmari Aalto


Ilmari Aalto was a Finnish painter. He was a member of the expressionist group Sallinen, that had grown around artist, Tyko Sallinen.
Aalto painted still lives, as well as landscapes and portraits.

Life

Aalto was born in Kuopio. He studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1907 to 1908 and the Finnish Art Society drawing school from 1908 to 1910.

Career

Most of Aalto's landscape paintings are views of Töölö and Suursaari. Aalto's landscape painting is also shown Restaurant Eliel Brussels, Helsinki railway station. The rear wall of the landscape design of Eero Järnefelt and A. W. Finch were the most involved, but only three artist Ilmari Aalto dared to climb high ladders to take the painting.
Aalto started with Expressionism, but also discovered cubism in 1914. An Edvard Munch exhibition at the Ateneum soon after his graduation, had a strong influenced on Aalto and built on the expressionist influences; cubists and expressionists exhibition were seen in Finland in 1914, and were accompanied by key artists, among other things, the German Der Blaue Reiter.
After the 1920 trip to Paris, Aalto began to use more colors and strong brush strokes instead of the previous greyish palette. Later, while visiting Paris in 1928 he adopted a more realistic expression, clear contours and unmixed colors. Ilmari Aalto is said to have destroyed many of his earlier works.
Aalto died of liver cancer at the age of 43. Aalto's spouse was Alli Helena Linnalahti.

Gallery