ABSTRACT
Re-examinations of Nordic classicism of the 1920s have begun to reveal the true complexity of eclectic attitudes during that period. When understand the historical roots of vernacular neoclassicism in Finland, then the broader spectrum of a common architectural language, which Nordic classicism was intended to reiterate and reinforce, becomes a significant and provocative cultural issue. Central to the whole notion of Nordic classicism was a concern to identify and celebrate those elements of architectural language that thrive equally well in monumental classicism and its vernacular transformations. Far from being a superficial treatment that merely disguises a modernist intention, these universal images of classicism were proposed as an integral part of the familiarity and continuity of an established architectural language. Classicism presented itself as the obvious candidate for revival. The continuation of classicism in Finland had several sources and stimuli. Hilding Ekelund travelled and sketched in Italy, visiting and admiring Vicenza.
