Sibelius Monument

The national competition for the design a public monument to the composer Jean Sibelius was based on anonymously submitted miniature statues. The names of the entrants were not public and for this reason it was unclear to the Sibelius family for a couple of years who had sculpted the proposal portraying Sibelius figuratively, a design that they preferred over the winning entry.

At the family’s suggestion, the Sibelius Society of Järvenpää commissioned a second Sibelius monument and donated it to the town. While Eronen working on the monument, the family visited often and discussed the work in progress.

Eronen never met Sibelius, nor did he see the documentary films about the composer until long after the inauguration of the monument. Eronen had borrowed a single photo from Sibelius’ daughter Eeva Paloheimo. However, Eronen was already familiar with the facial features of the composer from the time when he, as a young assistant to the sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen, prepared a duplicate of the original statue of Jean Sibelius in 1950.

Both the Sibelius family and Eronen felt that the essence of the composer’s personality had been successfully captured in the bronze monument. On the evening after the unveiling, the composer’s widow Aino Sibelius visited privately, and when she saw the monument in the light of the tar torches, she exclaimed:

‘It’s perfect! It’s just like our Janne!’

The monument was completed in 1964 and inaugurated in 1965 in Järvenpää to mark the 100th anniversary of Jean Sibelius’ birth. Today it stands in the park beside Järvenpää Art Museum.

The article on the inauguration of Jean Sibelius monument on 28.9.1964.

Bronze on a red granite pedestal.

About the artwork


Material(s): Bronze, Granite
Art form(s): Sculpture

Details

Exhibit Number: 16
Variation Number: 1
Date: 1964
Height: 350 cm

Location

Back to the gallery

Related works of the art form: Sculpture