Alvar Aalto

816 - ALVAR AALTO, "Savoy", Iittala, Finland, formblåst, grön glasmassa, signerad ALVAR AALTO, höjd 28,5 cm; mindre nagg, repa Estimate: SEK 3 000-4 000 (EUR 300-400) Contact our experts about this object Place an absentee bid on this object Bidding closes 2009-10-28 - 11:00 (CET)

52 by 31.3cm., 20½ by 12¾in. DESCRIPTION oil on canvas PROVENANCE Sale: Hagelstam Huutokaupat, Helsinki, December 1999, lot470 Purchased by the present owner at the above sale EXHIBITED Helsinki, Amos Andersen, Alvar Aalto.Taiteilija-Konstnären-The Artist , 1998 Alajärvi, Nelimarkkamuseo, The Arctic Aalto , 1998 Helsinki, Designmuseo, Suomalaisen funktionalisminmestari 2004 Painted in the 1920s, the present work shows the church atAlajärvi, built by the German Neo-Classical architect Carl LudvigEngel circa 1836-41. Aalto's fondness for the building isevident in his appreciation of it that he submitted withaccompanying drawings to the journal Kerberos in 1921. Hewrote: 'The beautiful church here is by C. L. Engel, and it rests noblyamong the verdure... when I am leaving the church, I feel what acomplete human being I am, well-meaning and chemically free fromsin. For a moment one has received the gift of seeing the beautifulin everything' (quoted in Göran Shildt, Alvar Aalto. HisLife , Jyväskylä, 2007, p. 154). Aalto's family had a summer house in Alajärvi, and took uppermanent residence there in 1918. The renovation of the houseduring the following year was Aalto's first recorded architecturalassignment. In subsequent years he produced designs for the OldMunicipal Hospital, the clubhouse for the Defense Corps, thegraveyard for the fallen of the Great War, the renovation of theAlajärven Osuuskauppa, and the home of his brother Väino, VillaVäinöla. Best known for his pioneering position as a central figure ofNordic Modernism, Aalto's range of activity embraced the areas offurniture and glassware designs, architecture and painting.Ground-breaking in its modernism, his work in each field had itsroots in a traditionalism springing from the physical environmentand cultural heritage of Finland.

designed circa 1938 birch veneered plywood, the upper tier with a red laminated inset top, the wheels pierced with three holes LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Roberto Aloi, Esempi: Tavoli, Tavolini, Carrelli, Volume I, Milan, 1957, plate 159. CATALOGUE NOTE An example with a black top was sold in these rooms, Fine Decorative Arts & Design from 1870 , 4th May 2006, lot 86.