taivaankuvan

Taivaankuvan is a Finnish noun form meaning an image or depiction of the sky. The word taivaankuvan is the genitive singular form of taivaankuva, and it is used to indicate possession or association with a sky image, for example taivaankuvan värit (the colors of the sky image) or taivaankuvan vaikutus (the effect of the sky image). The base taivaankuva is a compound of taivas (sky, heaven) and kuva (image, picture).

The term can refer to a concrete depiction—such as a painting or photograph of the sky—as well as to a more figurative, poetic vision of the heavens. In literary or art-critical contexts, taivaankuvan may be used to evoke celestial or sublime imagery and to describe how the sky is represented or imagined in a work. It is not a technical term in meteorology or astronomy; for scientific purposes the Finnish uses taivaankartta (sky map) or specific astronomical terms.

Translations into English vary with context and tone. Common renderings include "the image of the sky," "sky image," or, in a more poetic sense, "heavenly vision." The nuance tends toward aesthetic description rather than literal depiction.

See also: taivaankuva, taivaankartta, taivas, kuvallisuus.