Segerstråle Lennart - Elämän lähde (1951)

This fresco in Rovaniemi Church depicts a cross-section of the hearts of every human as well as that of humanity, where the struggle between good and evil takes us either to the source of life to meet Christ or away from it, to walk our lives in our own direction. The backdrop to the human figures in the fresco is the rugged and majestic Lapland, from where the light of the world, Christ, emerges in his circle of light.

The artist visited Switzerland, Germany and, of course, Lapland as part the design process of the fresco. After one trip, Segerstråle wrote: "Often the spark comes from the locality itself and the conditions from which the motifs of the piece are drawn." This local influence can be clearly seen in the landscapes, nature, people and situations depicted in the fresco.

The fresco was originally designed to only cover the end wall, but Lennart Segerstråle suggested extending it to the ceiling of the chancel in order to create an intact whole.