The Shipwrecked

At Tähtitorninmäki, Helsinki, stands a sculpture by Robert Stigell called The Shipwrecked. Helsinki Art Museum introduction:

Robert Stigell (1852-1907) made a plaster sculpture on the shipwreck theme already in the beginning of the 1890s. In 1893 he offered a bronze cast of it to the City of Helsinki to be used as a public monument. In 1897, the City signed an agreement with the sculptor, and Stigell finalized the work, over 4 metres in height, in Paris between 1897-1898. The sculpture was also cast in Paris.

The sculpture depicts a shipwrecked family. The father, the central figure in the group, holds a small child in his arms and is calling for help. He is waving a scarf and looking towards their rescuers. Another child, a small boy, is stuck in what remains of the ship. The mother has collapsed and is lying on the raft. The work does not depict a particular shipwreck nor is it historical; Stigell was merely interested in exploring the sculptural dynamics of the subject.

'The Shipwrecked' has been offered various symbolic meanings, none of which originate with the artist himself. Leo Mechelin, the speaker at the unveiling on November 18, 1898, made a reference to the difficult political conditions of the years of Russian suppression and to a promising future for Finland.

The sculpture faces West which has also been interpreted symbolically. The location of the sculpture was debated still in 1898, at least in the newspapers. According to one suggestion, the work should be placed near the Kappeli restaurant in the Esplanadi park and complemented with appropriate floral arrangements. A committee appointed by the City finally decided to place it on the square on Tähtitorninmäki, as Stigell himself had requested.

See how the ships coming and going to Helsinki center can be seen right behind it? That's one clue to the symbolism at hand. Once again we are looking at a statue with hidden in plain sight tarot symbolism. This one depicts the card Death.

The Shipwrecked - the statue:

1. The people are shipwrecked, in other words, in risk of death
2. The statue depicts two grownups and two children
3. One grownup is standing, and the other one is laying down
4. One child is looking up with curious face
5. The other child is looking away
6. The father has made a flag and waving it
7. You can see ships behind the statue (harbor area)

Death - the card:

1. Death comes to the people in a form of a rider.
2. The card depicts two grownups and two children
3. One grownup is standing, and the other one is laying down
4. One child is looking up with curious face
5. The other child is looking away and turning her head
6. Death is holding a flag
7. You can see a ship on the background

More examples of hidden in plain sight tarot symbolism on page Esoteric statues.