Free Exhibitions

They were labeled "free" because they did not have a jury to decide whose paintings or sculptures could be on display as other art exhibitions in Finland did at the time.

The exhibitions attracted attention among the press and public and even a few of Finland's most famous artists, including Eero Järnefelt and Walter Runeberg, participated in one of them.

Wettenhovi-Aspa studied art in Denmark, where he was taught by artists such as Kristian Zahrtmann and Peder Severin Krøyer.

Throughout his career, Wettenhovi-Aspa was seen in the Finnish press as a person seeking publicity and sensation whose art was at best controversial and amateurish.

All willing artists were urged to send their works to this Free Exhibition, which opened on 10 December 1896 in the Ateneum Art Museum's hall.

The press seemed to believe that in an open exhibition the works of art on display were weak and inadequate; paintings or sculptures made with skill were not expected to be encountered.

The second Free Exhibition opened on 2 April 1898 in the Ateneum Art Museum's hall, once again organized by Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa and Torsten Wasastjerna.

The artists were Walter Runeberg, Thorsten Waenerberg, Eero Järnefelt, Carl Eneas Sjöstrand, Alex Federley, Vilhelm Sjöström, J. Montell, Hanna Rönnberg, G. Rosinsky, Oskar Svenberg, Alexander Barkoff, Arthur Harald Gallén, Maria Kolnitsch, Baron Taube, A. J. Rapp, H. Sjernvall, J. F. Tuhkanen, Adolf von Becker, Hugo Backmansson, A. Sandberg, Elis Nyström, A. Loux, Ragnar Asp, Divina Asp and naturally Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa and Torsten Wasastjerna.

There were 9 participants in the third Free Exhibition: Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa, his brother Ragnar Asp, Alexander Barkoff, John Rafael Eklund, Teuvo Koskelo, Arvid Liljelund, A. J. Rapp, Karl Walter Smedberg and an artist going by the pseudonym "Henni".

While some reporters said the artwork on display was ugly and amateurish, others felt the exhibition gave pleasure and food for thought.

In 1882 in Norway, artists, including Frits Thaulow and Christian Krohg, established The Autumn Exhibition as an objection to Christiania's Art Society, which was viewed as bourgeois.

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts was considered too conservative at the time and the artists wanted to create an alternative for their juried exhibitions.

It could be argued that Den Frie Udstilling in Denmark and the Salon de la Rose + Croix in France influenced Wettenhovi-Aspa when he was living in Copenhagen and Paris.

Another indicator is the fact that Wettenhovi-Aspa was living in Denmark when Den Frie Udstilling was founded in 1891 and also took his Free Exhibition to Copenhagen in 1901.

The founder of the salon, Joséphin Péladan, was a peculiar character in late 19th century Paris who might have influenced the young Wettenhovi-Aspa.

The purpose of Free Exhibitions was said to be giving young artists an opportunity to get their art on view without the restrictions of a jury.