Walter Runeberg

Walter Magnus Runeberg (December 29, 1838 – December 23, 1920) was a Finnish neo-classical sculptor.[1]

Walter Runeberg
Portrait photograph of Walter Runeberg, 1870–1875
Born(1838-12-29)December 29, 1838
Porvoo, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (now Finland)
DiedDecember 23, 1920(1920-12-23) (aged 81)
Helsinki, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Known forSculpture
MovementNeo-classical

Biography

Runeberg was born in Porvoo as the eldest son of Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg[2] and his wife, Fredrika Runeberg. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, and with sculptor Carl Eneas Sjöstrand.[1] From 1858 through 1869 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen under Herman Wilhelm Bissen, acquiring a clear influence from the neoclassical style of Bissen's master Bertel Thorvaldsen.[1] He married Lina Elfving (1841–1916) in 1867. They had six children.[1]

After periods living and working in Rome and Paris,[1][3] Runeberg produced many of Helsinki's best-known examples of monumental public art. The largest is the Alexander II Monument in Senate Square, a commission awarded jointly to Runeberg and sculptor Johannes Takanen, then completed by Runeberg after Takanen's death in 1885.[4] The pedestal features several allegorical figures. Notably, the figure representing Law is a version of the Suomi-neito, the Finnish maiden, here cloaked in bearskin.[5]

He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.[6]

  • With his wife Lina in Rome, 1868
  • Runeberg in his studio, 1910s
  • Runeberg family grave, Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki

Works

Statue of Alexander II
  • Alexander III being shown a work-in-progress of the statue of Alexander II on 9 August 1885 at House of Nobility
  • Reveal in 29 April 1894 at Senate Square
  • The statue with its accompanying structure
  • The statue from front
  • Close-up of Alexander II, side
  • Close-up of Alexander II, front
  • Statues at the bottom, with the four sides representing Law, Trade, Peace and Agriculture
  • Law
  • Trade
  • Peace
  • Agriculture
  • Model for Trade, called Science and Art
  • Model for Law

Other notable works

See also

References
  1. Lindgren, Liisa (9 October 2006). "Runeberg, Walter (1838 - 1920)". Kansallisbiografia. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  2. http://www.saatchigallery.com/museums/museum-profile/Walter+Runeberg+Collection/4641.html
  3. "Walter Runeberg". Porvoo. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  4. http://www.taidemuseo.fi/english/veisto/veistossivu.html?id=317
  5. Undressing the maid: gender, sexuality, and the body in the construction of the Finnish nation, Johanna Valenius, 2004, page 20
  6. "Hietaniemen hautausmaa – merkittäviä vainajia" (PDF). Helsingin seurakuntayhtymä. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  7. "Kleobis ja Biton / Cleobis and Biton". HAM Helsinki. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. "ohan Ludvig Runebergin muistomerkki/ Johan Ludvig Runeberg's memorial". HAM Helsinki. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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