Eemil Halonen (21 May 1875 – 5 November 1950) was one of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

’s most productive

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Life

He was born in,

Lapinlahti Lapinlahti (; sv, Lapinlahti, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region, located north of the city of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populati ...

, and first studied woodworking at the Lappeenranta and Lapvesi Crafting School. Later he studied sculpture with

Emil Wikström Emil Wikström (13 April 1864 in Turku – 26 September 1942 Helsinki) was a Finnish sculptor. Among his best known works are the '' Lyhdynkantajat'' ("Lantern Carriers") sculptures on the front of the Helsinki Central railway station and the mo ...

at the Finnish Art School. He travelled to study in Russia, France and Italy. Eemil Halonen’s artwork was multifaceted. While living in

he sculpted images of the common people as well as public works, which he often made from Finnish wood and stone. After moving to Helsinki in 1919 Eemil Halonen concentrated on commissioned works, for example gravestones. His sculpture of Minna Canth, unveiled in Kuopio in 1937, is one of Halonen’s best known public pieces. Eemil Halonen is one of the most notable interpreters of Finland’s national epic, the

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...

. During his artistic career, which lasted more than 50 years, he repeatedly depicted subjects from the Kalevala. A central theme of his sculpture was women characters from the Kalevala, from Louhe to Sotkottaret. For Eemil Halonen the Kalevala was a sacred book that broadly affected his view of life. He would often say: ”The Kalevala has wisdom behind it”.

Works

* Six decorative sculptures, Lallukka commercial building, Vyborg 1903-1904 * Aspen Girl, 1908 * Mother and children, granite, Finland-flash house Helsinki 1911 * Ernst Nevanlinna the tomb (Semper Excelsior) Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki, 1934 (copies at the Turku cemetery and Mutton old cemetery) * Statue of Minna Canth, Kuopio 1937 * Muuruvesi, Iisalmi, Kuopio and Hiitola hero statues

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halonen, Eemil 1875 births 1950 deaths People from Lapinlahti People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 20th-century Finnish sculptors