Eesti kunsti oksjonid
Richard Kaljo “Akordionimängija”
Sügisoksjon 2024
Drypoint on paper. 1938.
Signature: Kuivnõel (proovitrükk) / Richard Kaljo. -38.
| Measurements | Plm 37,8 x 30 cm |
|---|---|
| Starting price | 2 500 € |
| Number of bids | 3 |
| Hammer price | 2 700 € |
The second half of the 1930s brought another genius to Estonian graphic art alongside Eduard Wiiralt – Richard Kaljo (1914-1978) who was equally virtuosic as the great master. His realistic style of depiction was also nourished by irony and colorful typologies. The rare 1938 drypoint piece “The Accordion Player” was completed at the same time that Kaljo began exhibiting at professional artists’ exhibitions. While still a student at Pallas, he was already considered a very promising future star worthy of it at the time.
Art historian Elnara Taidre writes in the book accompanying the 2014-2015 Kumu exhibition “Richard Kaljo. Stories in Graphics and Letters” that in this piece, the conventional anatomical approach typical of Pallas prints is combined with “a special brightness filling the depicted faces, which is characteristic of the works of Wiiralt as well as Karin Luts from the 1930s” (p. 15. EKM, 2014).
“The Accordion Player”, with its strong expressionist mood, introduces the young artist as an already mature master. Depicting the experience of music, Kaljo also conveys three different characters whose looks show that the world of sounds has pushed away everyday worries and that only the captivating melody carries the emotions of the moment.
The print is also part of the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia and is reproduced in the book accompanying the exhibition “Richard Kaljo. Stories in Graphics and Letters” held at Kumu in 2014-2015, on page 68, and in its catalogue section, on page 145. The works up for auction this time come from the Richard Kaljo estate, with which we also celebrate the maestro’s 110th birthday.
Text: Harry Liivrand, Katre Palm