The Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

n flat-plane style of woodcarving is a style of figure carving. The figures are carved in large flat

Flat

In music, flat, or Bemolle , means "lower in pitch"; the flat symbol lowers a note by a half step. Intonation may be flat, sharp, or both, successively or simultaneously...

 planes, created primarily using a carving knife

Knife

A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

. Tool marks are left in the carving and very little (if any) rounding or sanding is done. Swedish-born American artist, Emil Janel

Emil Janel

Emil Janel was an Swedish-born, American artist. Although he was a respected still life painter, he is mainly known for his caricatures in the Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving, and is considered by many to be one of the best of this genre.-Biography:Emil Gottfred Janel was born in the...

 was considered by many to be one of the best of this genre.

A common example of the style is the Dalecarlian horse

Dalecarlian horse

A Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse is a traditional carved and painted wooden statuette of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol of Dalarna as well as Sweden in general...

, whose distinctive shape is due to this manner of carving.