Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 -1931) was a Finnish painter who grew to love the countryside of his land from a young age. He started lessons in Helsinki at the age of 13 and then continued his artistic training at Paris, which is what most young art students did at the time.

Although his artistic focus was often on Finland, featuring pristine landscapes and scenes from Finnish folk tales such as the Kalevala, he exhibited his work all across Europe and gained international notoriety. He would also employ new techniques and trends he learned from abroad in his paintings.