Perho church altarpiece
Sahintie 3 Perho
Ilmari Wirkkala painted a number of altarpieces for churches, including one for Lohikoski in Sulkava as well as in Pyhäjärvi, Perho and Kaustinen. The subject of ‘Christ in the Wilderness’ in Perho is exceptional. The painting from 1938 is set in a wilderness landscape typical of Perho, but there is a northern fell in the background.
Ilmari’s wife, Selma Wirkkala, also participated in the work commissioned by the parish of Perho and designed church textiles.
In the Perho graveyard, there is also a monument for war heroes designed by Ilmari.
Stories
The birth history of the altarpiece in Perho church was preceded by fruitful cooperation between the parish and Ilmari Wirkkala. Christ in the Wilderness was chosen from the three proposed sketches because the local people could identify in it their own municipality’s nature destinations, such as the Salmelanharju ridge and an unusual pine (“crown pine”) in Salamajärvi. The Lapland fell is viewed as a symbol of the northernmost part of the Oulu diocese, Perho being the southernmost parish of the diocese.
The church from 1903, designed by Walter Thomé, originally had no altarpieces. A typical example of Ilmari Wirkkala’s sharp eye was that he criticised the church benches, which had even been used as model in Kaustinen. ‘Children will fall from such garden benches’, Wirkkala wrote, refusing to give the famous architect credit in this area.
Photos
Erämaan Kristus (Christ in the Wilderness)
Heroic monument
