Akseli gallen-kallela biography of alberta

Finnish painter (1865–1931)

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (born Axel Waldemar Gallén; 26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic.

His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national identity. He finnicized his name from Gallén to Gallen-Kallela in 1907.

Life and career

Early life

Gallen-Kallela was born on 26 April 1865, in Pori, to a Swedish-speaking family.

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His father Peter Gallén worked as police chief and lawyer. Gallen-Kallela was raised in Tyrvää. At age 11, he was sent to Helsinki to study at a grammar school, because his father opposed his ambition to become a painter. After his father's death in 1879, Gallen-Kallela attended drawing classes at the Finnish Art Society (1881–1884) and studied privately under Adolf von Becker.