Einar W. Juva

Einar W. Juva (Juvelius until 1935, 1892–1966) began serving as Vice Rector in early 1934 but was appointed as the University’s Rector in September of the same year, when J. G. Granö stepped down from his duties due to health issues. The start of Juva’s term as Rector was overshadowed first by a financial crisis and later by the war, which halted the University’s operations almost completely. Despite the war – and partly because of it – the Faculty of Medicine was established at the University of Turku during Juva’s rectorship, in 1943. Juva served as Professor of Finnish History from 1929 to 1955, as Rector until 1945, and once more as Vice Rector in 1948–1951. A nationalist, Juva focused on military history and the historical roots of Finnish independence in his research.

The pencil portrait of Juva in the University’s art collection was drawn by artist Tapani Raittila (1921–2018) in 1965. Raittila was one of the modernists of the 1950s and an esteemed portraitist; he painted, for instance, President Urho Kekkonen’s portrait in 1958. The artist gave up portrait commissions in the early 1980s but continued to paint portraits and self-portraits until the final years of his career. Raittila received the Pro Finlandia Medal in 1966 and the State Prize for Visual Arts in 1985. His retrospective exhibitions were held in Kunsthalle Helsinki in 1991 and in the Sara Hildén Art Museum in 2007. After the war, Raittila’s fellow students at the School of the Fine Arts Academy of Finland included Tuomas von Boehm (1916–2000), whose 1957 portrait of professor Eero Mustakallio (1907–2000) is also part of the University’s art collection.

Emma Vuolaslempi 2024