THE WORLD OF THE KALEVALA – AKSELI GALLEN-KALLELA
PRESS RELEASE
In celebration of the Kalevala Jubilee Year, Pori Art Museum, the Gallen-Kallela Museum, and the Gösta Serlachius Art Museum have collaborated on an exhibition focusing on Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s (1865–1931) works inspired by the Kalevala. Gallen-Kallela depicted the themes of the Kalevala more extensively than any other Finnish artist, and his interpretations have left a lasting impression on our understanding of this mythic world.
This joint project brings together three art museums with strong ties to Gallen-Kallela. Pori is the artist’s birthplace and the site of the Juselius Mausoleum, built between 1899 and 1902 by industrialist F. A. Juselius in memory of his 11-year-old daughter, Sigrid. Akseli Gallen-Kallela created the primary decorative frescoes for the mausoleum during his most creative period, thematically close to his Kalevala works. Consequently, original sketches of these frescoes are included in the exhibition. The Gösta Serlachius Art Museum in Mänttä houses numerous significant works by Gallen-Kallela, while the Gallen-Kallela Museum in Tarvaspää preserves the artist’s studio and material illuminating his life and work.
The exhibition, titled “Akseli Gallen-Kallela – The World of the Kalevala,” does not aim to be a comprehensive survey of the artist’s Kalevala-themed works. Instead, it is based on key pieces from the Gösta Serlachius Art Museum, the Gallen-Kallela Museum, and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation’s collection of Juselius Mausoleum fresco sketches. The primary focus is on sketches and studies of the central Kalevala themes—works that are often unfamiliar to the public. Through this material, the exhibition seeks to shed light on the creation of Gallen-Kallela’s well-known Kalevala paintings, revealing their background, the artist’s multifaceted experiments, and the changes they underwent.
The central Kalevala masterpieces and broader aspects of Gallen-Kallela’s career are presented through a multimedia program produced especially for the exhibition by Douglas Sivén and Heikki Tuuli.
In the exhibition catalog, Professor Sixten Ringbom offers a compelling perspective on Gallen-Kallela’s artistic development in his article, “Nature and Humanity in Gallen-Kallela’s Paintings,” highlighting the artist’s journey to becoming the visual interpreter of Finland’s national myths, particularly the Kalevala.
Publication:
ISBN 951-9355-08-1 Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Kalevalan maailma/ Kalevalas värld
Porin taidemuseo 6.1.-3.2.1985
Translation: Ensio Kukkasniemi (article)
Lay-Out and Poster: Pori Art Museum
Photography: C. Grünberg, Kari Hakli, Kari Lehtinen, Erkki Soininen, Douglas Sivén, Matti Ruotsalainen
Satakunnan Kirjateollisuus Oy, Pori 1984
Pori Art Museum Publications 4
Translated with ChatGPT