In the story depicted in this set of three panels, or triptych, we see the sage Väinämöinen wooing a young maiden named Aino. She does not want to marry the old man but rather drowns herself. The first scene of the story is shown on the left, the second on the right and the final scene – in which Väinämöinen still seeks to capture Aino, who has turned into a water sprite – in the centre. The artist made two versions of this, his first large Kalevala-themed painting. The model for Aino in this work was the artist’s newly-wed wife, Mary. The frame, designed by Gallen-Kallela himself, features quotes from the fourth and fifth poem of the Kalevala that the painting is based on.