”Kalevala is a manifestation of being Finnish, our persistent will to live and our magnificent nature. Dressed in stone, Kullervo might sound softly classical, like springtime haze rising on a pond at the break of dawn.”

Sculptor Emil Wikström (1864 - 1942) was G.A. Serlachius' lifelong friend and the person Gösta appealed to in his sadness when the grave monument of G.A. was being designed. With several stone and bronze sculptures, Wikström brought the traditions of Renaissance art to Mänttä.