On the back wall you can see a painting by Axel Gallén dating from 1894, one of three by this artist from this year. It is a watercolourin three parts, often called “En Saga”.

In this, Gallén created a fantasy landscape which included his sketch of Sibelius for the Symposion painting. He combined the same elements for an exhibition in Helsinki in the spring of the same year, creating a version in two parts . Eero Järnefelt went to see the painting and praised it in a letter to Louis Sparre on 9th June. Nevertheless, he added the comment:

“I can see no atmosphere in the picture and even less any identification with Sibelius’s music.”

According to one story, Gallén left an empty space in his painting when he presented Sibelius with the work; he asked Sibelius to paint into it a theme from his symphonic poem En Saga. However, Sibelius did not fulfil Gallén’s wish.

The works of art in the library also include the sculpture “The Singing Monks” by B. Gauguin, the son of the painter Paul Gauguin (adjacent to the painting by Gallén). In addition, the right-hand wall contains two reliefs representing Sibelius: an 80th birthday present produced by Wäinö Aaltonen (1894-1966) [see picture below], and a work from 1954 by Kain Tapper (1930-2004).