Despair, study for the "By the River of Tuonela", Jusélius Mausoleum

Akseli Gallen-Kallela was Finland's most celebrated painter of the national epic Kalevala, and this 1903 study for the Jusélius Mausoleum frescoes in Pori belongs to one of the most ambitious decorative projects in Finnish art history. The mausoleum was built by silk merchant Fritz Jusélius to commemorate his daughter Sigrid, and Gallen-Kallela was commissioned to paint frescoes depicting scenes from Finnish mythology and allegories of the soul's journey. The figure of Despair from the River of Tuonela — the underworld river of Finnish myth — was central to the iconographic programme. The frescoes were later damaged and repainted, making these studies important documents of the original conception.

The study is painted with bold, direct strokes suited to preparatory work, establishing form and tonal structure rather than final surface finish. The figure conveys emotional intensity through pose and gesture. Dark, weighted colours evoke the mythological underworld atmosphere Gallen-Kallela sought.