In a small quiet square on Unioninkatu in Helsinki stands a sculptural composition that attracts with its simplicity, purity, and directness. It depicts a horse with a small foal, and the statue is called just as simply as it looks: "Maternal Love." The author of this work was the outstanding Finnish sculptor Emil Cedercreutz, who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
He was always renowned for his talent for depicting animals, and this was especially true of horses. Emil made his debut in 1902 at an exhibition of Finnish painters and sculptors, and even then the main subjects of his works were horses. Later, General Mannerheim himself stated that anyone could create his effigy, but only Cedercreutz was capable of depicting the horse beneath him.
Over his career, the sculptor managed to create many different statues and compositions, some of which can loosely be interpreted as Impressionism, but he went down in history primarily as the author of the "Maternal Love" monument. It is a true local attraction, whose appearance brings peace and calm.
