Ragnar Ekelund

Ragnar Ekelund (1892-1960) was a skilled draftsman and brother of the architect Hilding Ekelund. Perhaps that is why he also painted landscapes with explicitly architectural motifs. In addition to being an artist, he was also a poet and art critic. He was a member of the artist groups Septem and Prisma.

He had studied painting at the Finnish Art Society's drawing school and both arthistory and Nordic philology at the University of Helsinki. He was mainly inspired by the French modernists, e.g., Paul Cézanne. He made countless trips to Southern Europe, where he painted desolate architectural cityscapes. Regardless of whether the paintings' subjects are urban landscapes, interiors, or still lifes, they are all characterized by a harmonious color palette with a clear geometric structure.