“Step into a world of pure color and form with Otto Mäkilä's "Sommitelma." This abstract painting from 1930 is a vibrant exploration of visual rhythm, inviting you to experience art through its dynamic shapes and expressive brushwork.”
A vibrant and energetic composition, this painting by Otto Mäkilä from 1930 pulses with a dynamic interplay of forms and colors. Rather than depicting a recognizable scene, the canvas is a field of abstract shapes, some organic and flowing, others more geometric and angular. Mäkilä uses a palette of rich blues, greens, and reds, often layered or juxtaposed to create a sense of depth and movement. The brushwork is visible and expressive, contributing to the overall feeling of spontaneous creation. This work reflects a broader European shift towards abstraction in the early 20th century, where artists explored the emotional and structural possibilities of pure form and color, moving away from traditional representation. Here, the artist invites us to experience the painting not as a window onto the world, but as a world in itself, full of visual rhythms and harmonies.
- Artist
- Otto Mäkilä
- Date
- 1930
- Location
- Finnish National Gallery
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The large, sweeping blue form dominating the left side of the canvas.
The smaller, sharp red triangle near the center, cutting through other shapes.
Areas where brushstrokes are clearly visible, revealing the painting process.
The way green and yellow elements seem to intertwine in the upper right.
1 more detail is waiting.
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Otto Mäkilä
1904–1955 · FinlandOtto Mäkilä, a Finnish painter, captured the human experience with works like 'Murder' and 'Evening on the Wijtschaete Plain' in the early 20th century.
Further Works by Mäkilä
Gnome
1945 · Finnish National Gallery
Door to the Unknown
1947 · Finnish National Gallery
View from Turku
1915 · Finnish National Gallery
Portrait (Painter Erkki Kosonen)
1922 · Finnish National Gallery
Portrait of an Old Man
1928 · Finnish National Gallery
Friends
1931 · Finnish National Gallery
Street in Paris
1931 · Finnish National Gallery
Two Masks
1931 · Finnish National Gallery
More works to explore
Beyond Mäkilä: works from the same years.
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray
Piet Mondrian · 1921 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
American Gothic
Okada Saburosuke · 1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Three Love Birds
Ivan Puni · 1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Straße mit Passanten bei Nachtbeleuchtung
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · 1927 · Museum Frieder Burda
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Abstraction: Background with Blue Cloudy Sky
Pablo Picasso · 1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
American Gothic
Grant Wood · 1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Strange Glance
Paul Klee · 1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
The Eye
René Magritte · 1932 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
The Circus Rider
Marc Chagall · 1927 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Lemons on a Pewter Plate
Henri Matisse · 1926 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Untitled (Desert Landscape)
Salvador Dalí · 1934 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1910s–1940s
Garden Airplane-Trap
Max Ernst · 1935 · Art Institute of Chicago
