Lost, 1886

This weekend i went to the opening of Akselli Gallen-Kallela at the Groningen Museum in the Netherlands.
He paints women beautifully. If i was going to be painted that is how i would like to be portrayed- with the love, respect and tenderness that Gallen-Kallela obviously had for his subjects. I would go so far as to say that although he painted other subjects, his paintings are a celebration of womanhood.
The publicity image shows a beautiful pubescent girl, hair streaming into the moon behind her, looking heavenward with arms outstretched. Her eyes could be filled with tears but she doesn't look sad. She stands open and accepting, up to her thighs in a red sea.
The painting which affected me most was the one with the title above. It shows a female figure slumped at the base of a tree in a forest. When i looked at it, i couldn't decide wether i was looking at a woman or a young girl. I searched her figure for signs of maturity but still found myself stuck between a plump child and an androgynous young woman.
The figure is predominantly blue with the saddest most dejected look i have ever seen painted. She has sat down because she doesn't know what to do. It would be easy to assume that this is because she cannot find her way home.
Her hand lays palm upwards on the forest floor. She is holding a red checked piece of cloth which seems to bleed into her hand.
When i read the catologue i find that an earlier version of the painting contained a dead baby.
Incredible.