Sinebrychoffin taidemuseo

About the museum

The house at Bulevardi 40 was completed in 1842 as the home of the Sinebrychoff family and the office of the brewery. Paul Sinebrychoff the younger married the actress Fanny Grahn in 1883, and the couple began collecting art in the 1890s. In 1921 Fanny Sinebrychoff donated some 900 works to the Finnish state, as the couple had wished. The house opened as a home museum on 27 November 1921.

When the Winter War began in 1939, the museum was closed and the collection was evacuated to safety; the building was damaged in bombing. After the war the house was rented to the chemistry laboratory of the Teknillinen korkeakoulu (Helsinki University of Technology). The brewery refurbished the premises for museum use, and the museum reopened on 22 January 1960. The state bought the entire building from the brewing company in 1975, and the house was renovated for museum use in 1978–1980. In 1980 the old European art collections of the Ateneum were transferred to Sinebrychoff. Repairs in 2002–2003, aimed at preservation and restoration, ended with the museum opening to the public in February 2003, and the rooms were arranged to resemble the 1910s on the basis of Signe Brander’s photographs from 1912.

The museum’s collection comprises about 6,500 works and is the largest and most valuable collection of older European art in Finland. The works date from the 14th century to the 1850s, with an emphasis on post-Renaissance art. The collection has grown through donations from several collectors, which the museum has supplemented with purchases. The Hjalmar Linder collection includes the only Rembrandt in Finland.

Highlights

• Home museum of Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff
• Largest collection of older European art in Finland
• The only Rembrandt in Finland, in the Linder collection
• Works from the 14th century to the 1850s
• Collection exhibition presenting highlights of the collection

Permanent exhibitions

• Paul ja Fanny Sinebrychoffin kotimuseo – The home museum on the first floor presents the couple’s home with its art objects, antique furniture and porcelain, in the style of the 1910s.
• Kokoelmanäyttely – The exhibition presents highlights of the museum’s collection of older European art.

Founded

1921

Operated by

Kansallisgalleria

Director

Kirsi Eskelinen

Admission & discounts

Free admission: The last Friday of each month, 15:00–18:00

Adult ticket €19 when bought online and €21 at the ticket desk. The home museum on the first floor and the collection exhibition are free for everyone. The Museokortti (Finnish Museum Card) is accepted (€86 per 12 months, renewal €79). Free admission also for holders of the CIMAM, ICOM, Helsinki-kortti, Kaikukortti and Kulttuurikaverit cards, for holders of press cards and membership cards of visual artists’ associations, and for asylum seekers. Payment methods: cash, common bank and credit cards, Edenred and ePassi.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The step-free entrance is on the side of the building at the corner of the Sinebrychoffin puisto (park); there is a doorbell at the door, and staff guide you in. The lift serves all exhibition floors. On the ground floor there is a step-free, gender-neutral toilet. An induction loop is available at the ticket desk and in the seminar room. Wheelchairs, rollators and pushchairs can be borrowed from the ticket desk or the step-free entrance, and folding stools may be brought along. Earplugs, writing pads, magnifying glasses and torches can also be borrowed from the ticket desk. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome. An audio-described presentation of seven works of the Kansallisgalleria is available on the museum website, and audio-described guided tours are offered for blind visitors. The museum accepts the disability card (vammaiskortti).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children can explore the former home of the Sinebrychoff family, look for animals and creatures hidden among the objects, and visit the home museum on the first floor with its gold decorations and curiosities. A guided tour can be booked for children, and a children’s guide can be ordered for birthday parties. The museum lends light pushchairs; your own pushchair can be brought in through the step-free entrance, but the rooms are cramped in places. There is a baby-changing room on the ground floor, and resting chairs on the ground floor and the first floor. Breastfeeding is not permitted near the artworks.

Getting there & parking

Taxis can drop off and collect passengers at the step-free entrance. Bicycle racks are at the end of the building facing the square, and the nearest city bike station is at Hietalahdentori.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Museum shop (Museoshop). Combination-lock lockers are near the step-free entrance, and there are more lockers in the basement, as well as unsupervised cloakroom storage.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit