Description

The collector coin struck in honour of the 150th anniversary year of Akseli Gallen-Kallela commemorates the master painter's remarkable oeuvre and influence on the Finnish national character and Finnish painting art.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. His work was considered very important for the Finnish national identity. He changed his name from Gallen to Gallen-Kallela in 1907.

The most famous works from Gallen-Kallela's early period include the Realist paintings Boy with a Crow, the Old Woman and the Cat and Démasquée, painted during his art studies in Paris. After this period, Gallen-Kallela moved to a subject that had intrigued him since he was a child – the Finnish epic Kalevala, which gave birth to paintings such as the Aino triptych, the Forging of the Sampo and Lemminkäinen's Mother. The artist also painted the Kalevala-themed frescos for Finland's pavilion at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris.

The maximum mintage of the proof-quality EUR 20 silver Akseli Gallen-Kallela collector coin is 5,000, and 100 coins are numbered. The coins are numbered on the reverse, and the numbered coins are sold separately in beautiful glass cases.

Engraver: Hannu Veijalainen
Issue date: 22.10.2015