On 11th September 2015 Posti released a new set of stamps featuring Jean Sibelius.
A miniature sheet of three stamps commemorates Finland’s best-known composer. The Jean Sibelius 150 years sheet is designed by graphic artist Pekka Loiri, a classical music lover and Sibelius enthusiast.
Loiri’s stamp designs are inspired by three different stages in Jean Sibelius’s life, each created using different artistic techniques. Loiri has created a black-and-white inked-in drawing depicting Sibelius in the late 1800s as a passionate young artist living the Bohemian life. A richly coloured watercolor profile shows Sibelius as a symphonist in the early 1900s during the most prolific period of his career. A lithographic chalk drawing depicts Sibelius in the 1930s as an aging composer, matching the mental image that most Finns have of Sibelius.
Posti started out as a national postal company in Finland. Through continued investments and systematic R&D, Posti advanced into new growth areas such as communications, logistics and e-invoicing. In the 2000s, Posti has joined forces with leading growth companies in Europe and Russia.
The stamps form part of a series of music-themed stamp releases, with others in the autumn of 2015 portaying hard rock themes.
