From stone masons to loggers – exhibition opens in Halosenniemi
The exhibition opening on 4 February in Halosenniemi presents commissioned works and public art painted by Pekka Halonen. The name of the exhibition derives from two well-known commissioned works by Pekka Halonen: the wall fresco Kivityömiehiä (Stone Masons, 1903) in the vestibule of Sigrid Juséliusu0026#x27;s mausoleum and the painting Tukinuittajat (Loggers, 1925), commissioned by the League of Nations in Geneva. Pekka Halonen also painted portraits and book illustrations and participated in competitions for church altarpieces.
Halonen received his first commissions for altarpieces and murals in the 1890s. He began sketching altarpieces for Kotka and Mikkeli in Florence in 1896–97. He was influenced by the art of early Renaissance artists Giotto and Masaccio. Halonen worked on his pieces after moving to Tuusula in 1898, and they were completed in 1899–1900.
In addition to two other artists, Halonen painted Kalevala-themed panel paintings for merchant Salomo Wuori to decorate his dining room. The exhibition features Väinämöinen’s Music (1897), painted on tapestry fabric, which he prepared in Italy in 1896–97. Väinö Blomstedt’s painting The Robbery of Sampo (1897), painted for Wuorio, is also on display. Halonen’s most famous large-scale paintings were exhibited at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. Halonen was influenced by the French artist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes’s way of depicting people. The monumental watercolour Snowy Slope on display in this exhibition is a sketch for the painting In the Footsteps of the Lynx, which was exhibited at the World Exhibition.
At the beginning of his career, the artist earned additional income by illustrating the Nuori Suomi Christmas album published by Päivälehti in the 1890s. Halonen created cover illustrations and several vignettes related to poems or stories. Eino Leino’s poetry book Tuonelan joutsen (The Swan of Tuonela) received Halonen’s cover illustration in 1898.
The wall frescoes in the vestibule of Sigrid Jusélius’ mausoleum kept Halonen busy in the early 20th century, around the time Halosenniemi was completed. The final subjects were Stone Masons and Churchgoers, both of which have been preserved as large-scale sketches. The painting Churchgoers (1903) is on display in the exhibition. In the summer of 1906, Halonen painted a large-scale mural entitled Excursion in the Gulf of Finland for the Töölö public school.
Halonen’s monumental murals culminated in 1925 with the painting Tukinuittajat (Loggers), commissioned for the League of Nations ILO office in Geneva. There are several smaller sketches of this five-metre-long painting, one of which is on display in the exhibition. The final painting is now on display at the Parliament House in Helsinki. Halonen painted the work at her summer residence in Kivikoski, Kuhmoinen, a setting familiar from many of her paintings depicting rapids.
From stone masons to loggers – Pekka Halonen’s public art
4 February–24 May 2026
Halosenniemi
Halosenniementie 4–6, Tuusula
Tel. 040 314 3466
www.halosenniemi.fi(opens in a new window, switch to another service)
Open
4 February–30 April, Tuesday–Sunday, 12 noon–5 p.m.
1 May–24 May, Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Admission
fees €14/€12/free
with Museum Card and Kaiku Card.
Further information
Päivi Ahdeoja
This content has been translated using AI
Opening hours for municipal services in summer 2025
Christmas and New Year's Eve opening hours for Tuusula services
