Finland · 150th birthday of Akseli Gallen-Kallela

Issue date22 Oct 2015

Total mintage500,000

EU maximum500,000

Editions4

Edge letteringSUOMI FINLAND + 3 lion heads

InscriptionFI / 1865 / 2015 / AKSELI GALLEN KALLELA

DesignerHannu Veijalainen

mintSuomen Rahapaja OY, Vantaa, Finnland

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 150th birthday of the painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The design depicts the swan of Tuonela floating above waves symbolizing the sinking spirit. Below are a painter’s palette, Gallen-Kallela’s year of birth “1865”, and the name “AKSELI GALLEN KALLELA”.

The design

The upper part of the design depicts the floating Swan of Tuonela. The water beneath the swan forms waves symbolizing the sinking spirit. The abbreviation of the issuing country, “FI”, is shown at the right end of the horizon line. At the bottom of the design, a painter’s palette, Gallen-Kallela’s year of birth “1865” and the year of issue “2015” can be seen. The mintmark is located next to the palette. The artist’s name “AKSELI GALLEN KALLELA” can be read along the coin ring below the horizon line.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer coin ring.

Background on the topic

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931), originally Axel Waldemar Gallén, was a Finnish painter, graphic artist and designer. He initially studied in Helsinki and later in Paris. His early works were close to Realism; he subsequently turned increasingly towards Symbolism and Finnish national romanticism. In addition to paintings, he created frescoes, illustrations, prints, furniture and architectural designs.

A large part of his work draws on subjects from the “Kalevala”. This epic, compiled by Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century, is based on orally transmitted songs from Finland and Karelia. While Finland belonged to the Russian Empire as a grand duchy, the “Kalevala” became an important reference point for the development of a Finnish language, culture and national identity. Through his depictions, Gallen-Kallela had a lasting influence on the visual conception of the epic’s figures and scenes.

In the “Kalevala”, Tuonela is the realm of the dead. It is separated from the world of the living by a dark river. A swan lives on this river. In the myth, the hero Lemminkäinen is tasked with killing the animal. Before he can fulfil the task, he himself is killed and thrown into the river. His mother searches for his body parts, puts him back together and brings him back to life. The swan and the aquatic landscape are therefore associated with death, transition and return.

Among Gallen-Kallela’s best-known “Kalevala” works are depictions of Lemminkäinen’s mother, the Aino story and the battle for the Sampo. The frescoes for the Finnish pavilion at the Paris World’s Fair of 1900 also made this visual world known outside Finland.

The choice of the anniversary for a commemorative coin can be explained by Gallen-Kallela’s role in the visual formation of Finnish myths and national culture. The Tuonela theme thus refers not only to an individual artist, but also to the “Kalevala” as the cultural background of his work.