Suomen Kansallismuseo

This guide to Suomen Kansallismuseo in Helsinki centers on the frescoes painted inside the cupola above the entrance hall, and the team behind them: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, already known for his Kalevala paintings at the 1900 Paris World's Fair, recalled decades later to repeat the work permanently. You'll hear how his son Jorma and two assistants worked the scaffolding alongside him in his sixties, matching color across the ceiling week by week. It also traces the five years master builders spent laying the granite building itself, long before anyone climbed up to paint it. Look up as you listen.