Wäinö Aaltonen was the foremost sculptor during the early years of Finnish independence. In addition to creating many other nationally significant works of public art, he was commissioned during the National Romantic era to produce a portrait of Aleksis Kivi, regarded as the father of Finnish literature. The monument was erected in Helsinki in 1948.

A lifelike statue of the author was requested, but very few images of Kivi had survived. Aaltonen therefore based his sculpture on a drawing made of the author on his deathbed. In the portrait, however, he sought primarily to convey Kivi’s inner emotional landscape rather than achieve a physical likeness.

The portrait bust in Turku, originally erected on Yliopistonkatu in 1949, is based on the memorial in Helsinki.