Lecture: Ville Hakanen – A body like a marble sculpture: The adoption of the classical body ideal in Finland

In the current era of gym selfies, the stream of images that surrounds us would have us believe that an outward appearance resembling that of an ancient sculpture is not just the key to happiness, but also attainable by the individual. But, when ancient sculpture art was set up as an image of the ideal human being in late-18th-century Sweden, it was a distant utopia of feeble men.

Hakanen investigates how the classical male body was embedded in Finnish imagery and the ideal human being, and what meanings were placed on its shoulders, ranging from noble suffering to daring eroticism.

Ville Hakanen, PhD, is a researcher and teacher of art history at the University of Helsinki. Hakanen’s studies include the erotic mythological art of ancient Rome and the influence of ancient art on the image of the human being in Finland and the Nordic countries.

Duration: 1 hour.
80 seats.
With a museum ticket.
The presentation is held in Finnish.

No advance registration. Please sign up at the service desk when arriving in the museum.