In a nation such as Finland, having gained autonomy in 1809, while still part of the Russian Empire, and only achieving full independence in 1917, the history of art is often told from a more or less nationalistic perspective. Moreover, ethno-linguistic and class distinctions cutting across the basic duality of a Swedish-speaking elite versus a Finnish-speaking majority have functioned as a standard element in this “grand narrative.” A closer look at the historical processes by which this discursive eld arose and was transformed in the course of the 1910s and the subsequent interwar decades reveals and can further articulate shifts and variations in this representation. Expressionism during this period was associated with French, German, and more generally “Nordic” (Northern European)1 art, although some inuences were also mediated through Russian culture.