|
| A visitor coming from the direction of Helsinki to the The Gallen-Kallela Museum. will pass along the seashore, cross wooden bridges and walk through rushes by the shore and a dense grove. First to be seen among the tall spruces is the museum building's mysteriously fascinating crenellated tower with its small windows. The castle-like building on a high outcrop of bedrock is approached along a gravel road where suddenly an inviting well-lit courtyard opens to the visitor. The house on the bluff opens its arms to receive its visitor.
|
 Originally designed and built by Akseli Gallen-Kallela for himself and his family in 1911-1913, this combined studio and home is an interesting building. In many ways, it bears the image of its designer. It is a fluid blend of various styles and Finnish and international architectural traditions in much the same way as Gallen-Kallela was a "national cosmopolitan" equally at home in the wilds of Northern Finland as in the salons of the European art world. The location of the house on a bluff and facing the sea and its varied aspects tell of Gallen-Kallela's artistic concepts and sense of drama. The museum is a medieval castle, a Renaissance palazzo, and a safe and secure home.
|
| In the courtyard of Tarvaspää is a wooden villa built in the 1850s. belonging to the nearby manor of Alberga, the villa houses a café and restaurant. Growing in front of the villa are old oaks that belonged to the manor's park and the apple trees of Akseli Gallen-Kallela's wife Mary. By the shore is a chimneyless "smoke" sauna which is still in operation.
|
 It was at Tarvaspää that Gallen-Kallela was able to realize the dream of his youth:
"Out in the wilds I would like to own a crenellated castle, with a tower of grey stone and timbers of pine and oak. There I would brood on my own, spend a few hours in my laboratory, a few in my library, and the rest of the day forging metal, painting and sculpting."
|
| The The Gallen-Kallela Museum. preserves the memory of this multifaceted artist, a master who worked in the Renaissance spirit to produce a surprisingly extensive and varied range of works including paintings, graphics, frescoes, stained glass, sculpture, posters, illustrations, textiles, official decorations, uniforms, flags and architectural designs. The museum also tells of the artist's family and friends and of his travels, including his early years in Paris, his adventures in Africa, and his expeditions to the untouched wilderness tracts of his native Finland.
|
|
