Aino Sibelius was born on 10 August 1871 in Hausjärvi. She was the seventh child of General Alexander Järnefelt and his wife Elisabeth, née Clodt von Jürgensburg. Of the daughters, Aino was the only one who lived a long life as her sisters Ellida and Ellen died young. All of Aino’s brothers, Kasper, Arvid, Armas and Eero, became artists.
Aino Sibelius remained close with her childhood family throughout her life. The spouses of her siblings became important confidants for her, and she followed the growth and life of their children closely. Her family, friends and acquaintances formed a network which helped Aino cope with her feelings of loneliness and grief as well as times of scarcity and with whom she shared her moments of joy and happiness – as well as the large crop from Ainola’s garden.
The Järnefelts embraced Finnish national identity and culture in their home. They painted, played music and wrote. During his tenure as governor, Aino’s father, Alexander Järnefelt, aimed to establish Finnish as the language of the educated classes. Elisabeth Järnefelt gathered around her a group of enthusiastic conversationalists first in Helsinki and later in Kuopio as the family moved there. The Tolstoyan movement had a particularly strong impact on the thinking of Elisabeth Järnefelt. The ideological and ethical impact of the Tolstoyan movement had a profound impact on Aino’s outlook on life as well.
Aino’s upbringing emphasised the value of housekeeping skills. It was important to Elisabeth Järnefelt that children were brought up in a way that fostered the individual tendencies and resources of each child. Aino Järnefelt started her schooling in the Finnish school for girls in Helsinki and continued her studies in Kuopio, where the family moved when Alexander Järnefelt was appointed governor of the Kuopio Province. Aino graduated from grammar school in 1887.
She would have liked to have continued her studies, but when Alexander Järnefelt was appointed governor of the Vaasa Province, Aino moved with the family to contribute to the chores and formal duties of the governor’s household. In Kuopio and Vaasa, Aino attended a sculpture school, and the skills learnt there played a major role later, when it came to building and decorating her own home. In the sculpture school, Aino studied drawing, ornamentation, arithmetic and accounting.
Jean and Aino met for the first time in 1888 when Aino’s brother Armas Järnefelt brought a fellow student home. After the success of Kullervo, the couple got married in the summer of 1892 in the Järnefelts’ summer place, the Tottesund Mansion. The couple’s first child, daughter Eva, was born in 1893, followed by Ruth in 1894 and by Kirsti, their third daughter in 1898. Kirsti died under the age of two in 1900. Katarina Elisabeth was born in 1903. Later, when the family already lived in Ainola, another two daughters were born, Margareta in 1908 and Heidi in 1911.
Aino devoted her life to Jean Sibelius, his composing and their life as a family. The talented and versatile Aino also played the piano, read widely, spoke five languages and engaged in crafts from sculpting to embroidery. Aino Sibelius’ influence is evident everywhere in Ainola – in its interior design, textiles and the practical solutions of the home. The biggest design undertaking for her was the sauna, built in 1905. The garden with its kitchen and ornamental gardens became Aino Sibelius’ life’s work.
Correspondence with family and friends reveals a person who was observant, ethically uncompromising, thoughtful and analytical. Bringing up her five daughters was a vocation for her. The daughters and their families visited Ainola often and kept company to Aino, especially after the death of Jean. Aino Sibelius continued to live in Ainola for another 12 years after the death of her husband, until 1969.
Image: Santeri Levas, 1940s. Finnish Museum of Photography collection.