Lauri Santtu

(Valkeasaari 1902–1986, known as Lauri Järvinen until 1939) Graphic artist, illustrator, spoken-word artist, professor

To me, people—with their expressions, gestures, postures and clothing—are the most fascinating thing in the world. None of these are random; rather, they all reflect a person’s innermost being. Capturing that and bringing it to the fore in a picture is a challenge for me. If I s쳮d in doing this in my drawing, it brings me a sense of satisfaction and happiness. That is why I love drawing.

Lauri Santtu, omakuva 1948

Lauri Santtu was bo on 3 August 1902 in Valkeasaari. The artist, who later proved to be a keen observer of human nature, drew his first portraits as a child: at the age of nine, whilst convalescing in a hospital in Viipuri, he captured the features of the doctors treating him. Lauri Santtu developed a passion for art at a young age, perhaps influenced by his elder brother Vilho, who was 12 years his senior. Vilho, who had studied under Eero Jä efelt, would take his younger brother from Valkeasaari to St Petersburg, 30 kilometres away, for medical appointments. At the end of these trips, he would take Lauri to the Hermitage. For Lauri, the most memorable experience of these trips was Leonardo da Vinci’s painting *Madonna and Child*.

The drawing and sawmill industry

Lauri Santtu graduated from Kristiina Finnish Co-educational School in 1922. In the autumn of 1924, Santtu moved to Helsinki and began studying both at the Art Association’s drawing school and at the University of Helsinki’s drawing studio. However, his studies were cut short due to financial difficulties. The bank in his then home town of Keuruu refused to grant a loan, as the money was needed to repair a ba .

Santtu decided to give up his dreams of becoming an artist. He went to the Viipuri School of Sawmill Technology in Nurmo. As part of a group of three men, Lauri Santtu travelled around the forests of Lapua, Nurmo and Kuortane, marking trees. In the evenings, the owners of neighbouring houses would gather at their lodgings, and Santtu would draw their portraits. Santtu received encouraging feedback from these ordinary folk; some stayed in the living room waiting for Santtu’s drawings to be finished ‘as late as two o’clock in the mo ing’. He began to take an interest in art once again.

Under the tutelage of Carl Bengtsin and Akseli Gallen-Kallela

Whilst at school in Kristiina, Santtu had met Carl Bengts, whom he now asked to teach him art. Bengts agreed. In the spring of 1926, the 24-year-old Santtu left for Kristiina to become Bengts’s pupil. To ea the money for his further studies, Santtu left Kristiina for the Sortavala Teacher Training College. In Sortavala, he remained interested in drawing, perhaps even more so than his studies themselves. In Santtu’s own words, he now had a ‘wonderful opportunity to draw free models, interesting teacher types one after another’. Lauri Santtu qualified as a primary school teacher in 1928.

On Midsummer’s Day 1928, Santtu met Akseli Gallen-Kallela in Jyväskylä; Gallen-Kallela was on his way to Muurame to work on his book about Africa with Martti Raitio, the literary director at Gummerus. Raitio had asked Santtu to be his summer assistant, and so Lauri had the opportunity at the Gummerus office to show Gallen-Kallela the drawings he had made in Sortavala. Gallen-Kallela liked Santtu’s drawings and described them as ‘characteristic miniature portraits’. Gallen-Kallela gave Santtu technical advice on making art and introduced him to the art of lithography. Lauri Santtu later described Gallen-Kallela as a “manly and inspiring teacher”.

In teaching and art education

Gallen-Kallela encouraged Santtu to give up his teaching career and devote himself entirely to his career as an artist. Despite this advice, Santtu (mindful of his previous financial difficulties) took up a teaching post in Jämsä in the autumn of 1928, a position he held until 1932.

Alongside his teaching work, Lauri Santtu studied drawing and sculpture at the Art Association’s drawing school (1929–30) and at the University of Helsinki’s drawing studio, where he was taught by Väinö Blomstedt. From 1932 onwards, Santtu studied at the Helsinki School of Arts and Crafts, from which he graduated as a teacher of drawing in 1935.

How did Järvinen become Santtu?

Lauri Santu’s christened name was Lauri Aleksanteri Järvinen. The name was changed to Lauri Santu for practical reasons. In the 1930s, there were five artists in Finland named Järvinen. The identical names caused confusion, so three of the artists (Laura, Laila and Lauri Järvinen) signed their work with the abbreviation L.J-nen. Lauri Järvinen’s fellow students at the Ateneum also called him Santu, after his middle name, Aleksanteri. The name change to Lauri Santtu happened almost by accident: on one occasion, the su ame of an artist who also practised the art of public speaking was omitted from a news item on public radio, resulting in ‘Lauri Santtu’. The artist accepted this, and the name stuck.

Portraitist

Santtu’s pen has captured on paper the distinctive traits of ordinary people, teachers, fellow students and travelling companions, as well as cultural figures. Santtu’s work has cultural and historical value: he has immortalised – whether on the lid of a cigarette packet or the pages of a concert programme – visual and musical artists, reciters, actors, theatre directors, writers and academics.

In newspaper columns, Lauri Santu’s work has been described as keenly observant snapshots of everyday life, characterised by beautiful lines and an effortless style of presentation. He has also been regarded as one of the most skilled lithographers in our country. Santtu’s line and style of depiction have been praised as characteristic of his subjects, and his portrayal of people has been seen as showing “warm empathy in every stroke”. Exhibition reviews have also highlighted the caricature-like humour in Santtu’s work. The humour in his works has reminded many of caricatures. In his own view, Santtu did not draw caricatures, but rather quick sketches in which he expressed his impressions of people. The images may well be humorous “if the model has given cause for it”.

Santtu was also a performer. He had been interested in oral expression ever since he was a schoolboy. Even when drawing, he would commit the model’s facial expressions and gestures, the tone of their voice and their manner of speaking to memory. This interest in the voice seems to have found its way into his portraits as well. The mood of the people Santtu drew is often encapsulated in the expressions of their mouths; their voice and manner of speaking are easy to hear.

Lauri Santtu and Keuruu

Lauri Santun äiti Julia oli syntynyt Keuruulla, Murtomäen talossa. Taiteilijan isä, Kaarlo Järvinen asui Keuruulla rakentaessaan Pohjanmaan rataa. Julia ja Kaarlo vihittiin Keuruun vanhassa kirkossa vuonna 1881. Santun isän jäätyä eläkkeelle vuonna 1922, perhe muutti Keuruulle vanhan kirkon taakse Uutelaan. Santtu asui Keuruulla vakituisesti 1930-luvun alkuvuosiin asti, jonka jälkeen hän vietti Keuruulla kesiään.

Keuruulla Santtu piti ensimmäisen yksityisnäyttelynsä vuonna 1976. Näyttelyä varten hän oli tehnyt lyijykynällä ja hiilellä muotokuvia keuruulaisista henkilöistä. Keuruulaisia Santun kuvissa ovat mm. Häivän Emma ja Klakin Matti (piirros tehty miehen kuolinvuoteella, oikea nimi Matti Kangas, hän asui talossa, joka 1960-luvulla oli Keuruun kauppayhtiön talo). Yksityisnäyttelystä kumpusi keuruulaisille ajatus anoa taiteilijalleen professorin arvonimeä, joka myönnettiin Santulle vuonna 1979.

Lauri Santun omana toiveena oli, että hänen piirustustuotantonsa keuruulaiset ja keskisuomalaiset työt sijoitettaisiin pysyvästi Keuruulle. Syksyllä 1985 Keuruun taidemuseon kokoelmaan liitettiin kaupungin hankintana Santun keskisuomalaiset piirustukset, joiden kokonaismäärä on 236 työtä. Ajallisesti nämä työt kattavat tuotannon 1920-luvulta 1980-luvun alkuun. Keuruun museon hallinnoimissa taidekokoelmissa on yhteensä 357 Lauri Santun työtä.

Teksti: Laura Kuurne, Keuruun museo

Lähteet:

Galleria Rotunda. Lauri Santtu. Elämän näyttämöllä. Från livets scen. 8.10. – 6.12.1982 Keskisuomalainen 23.11.1963, 14.3.1976 Kaus.Lehti 14.10.1956 (nimimerkki Mono) Raunio Jussi: ”Lauri Santtu katsoo taaksepäin”. Suur-Keuruun sanomat 9.1.1973. Suur-Keuruun sanomat 9.3.1982. Suur-Keuruun sanomat 4.2.1984, (nimimerkki S-a). Tuomaala Seija & Rainio Jussi, 1986. Lauri Santtu. Teosluettelo. Keuruun museo.

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