At the end of a road lined with Art-Nouveau houses in shades of pastel and cream stands a building in lime yellow and gray. Walking in, stern faces and Victorian era rosy cheeks stare down at each passing visitor. Hands folded, they’ve been immortalized in oil and pastel by artists since the 14th Century. Carved rosewood and plumped pillows maintain the elegance of the early 20th Century, a moment frozen for an eternity like the paintings housed within.

This is the Sinebrychoff Art Museum of Helsinki, the only museum in Finland that specializes in old European Art. What began as the personal collection of Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff, whose household the museum is modelled after, soon grew to include eminent artists from Italy, France and beyond. So take a tour and meet the people behind these portraits and listen to the stories contained within their frames.