The Aleksis Kivi Memorial () is a statue dedicated to the Finnish author Aleksis Kivi (1834âÂÂ1872), designed and sculpted by Wäinö Aaltonen.
Unveiled on 10 October 1939, the bronze statue is located in the Helsinki Railway Square, in front of the Finnish National Theatre. The statue, along with most of Helsinki's public artwork, is owned and maintained by the Helsinki Art Museum. The sculpture was originally chosen through a contest; Aaltonen's submission was originally a more abstract cubist piece, but the selection committee chose him with the caveat that he would redesign the statue to be more realistic in appearance.
The memorial depicts a complentative (even melancholic) Kivi sitting in a chair. On the chair are reliefs inspired by three of Kivi's works: Sydämeni laulu, Keinu and Seitsemän veljestä pakenee Impivaarasta. The back of the chair features two stanzas from his poem, Ikävyys ("Melancholy"): <blockquote>
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