The wounded angel
The Wounded Angel, one of Hugo Simberg's most famous paintings, was painted in 1903 with oil based paint. The painting reflects the symbolism category of painting. The Wounded Angel was voted as Finland's "National Painting" in a vote held by the Ateneum Art Museum in 2006. The painting shows two boys holding a wounded angel on a stretcher of some sort. The angel is wounded, as the title of the painting implies, with a bandage covering her head and eyes and what looks to be a scar on her wing. In her right hand, she is holding a bunch of snowdrops which represents healing and rebirth. The painting uses bland and sad colors, except for the angel. The boy on the left is wearing only black. The boy on the right wears a brown coat with dark navy blue pants and back boots. The field behind them is a bland green with a few flowers in it. The sky is grey, which adds to the sad mood of the painting. The land on which they are walking on is that of Eläintarha, Helsinki, with Töölönlahti Bay in the back. The area was popular for people needing to rest and relax or to just spend time with their family. At the time, there were many institutions in the area, like Blind Girls' School and Home for the Cripples.