Wäinö Aaltonen: Storm

Wäinö Aaltonen: Storm

  • 1967 (1929–1930)
  • bronze, concrete base
  • Itäinen Rantakatu 38

The sculpture Myrsky (Storm) stands on the terrace of the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art. It depicts a woman striding forward, her hair and skirt blowing in the wind. The sculpture is a second mould of the memorial in Pori for the victims of the sunken torpedo boat S2 (1925). Finland’s Ministry of Defence commissioned the memorial from Aaltonen in 1928. Myrsky is the most emotionally tragic of the artist’s monuments.

Wäinö Aaltonen (1984-1966) wanted to choose a dynamic sculpture to be placed in front of the museum named after him. When designing the sculpture, Aaltonen was inspired by the famous Nike of Samothrace (300-200 BC) sculpture from ancient Greece, which depicts the goddess Nike heading victoriously into the sea breeze. However instead of victory, Aaltonen’s sculpture emphasises the despair of a woman who lost someone in the sinking of the ship.

Myrsky was erected in front the museum by the estate of Wäinö Aaltonen and the City of Turku, and it was unveiled when the museum opened on 17 September 1967.