Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1945.
Signature: Märt Bormeister Tallinn. 1945.

In addition to fine art, Märt Bormeister (1916-1991), who was also interested in archaeology, thoroughly researched the history of ancient fortress construction and reflected this in his paintings, especially often depicting Saaremaa. In his later interviews, he mentioned that he considered scenes depicting the life of ancient Estonians to be among his strongest paintings.

The Estonian History Museum hosts Bormeister’s small-format painting “The Castle” (1945), which is the sketch for either this piece or for the equally large (97 x 146) “Building a Castle” in the Art Museum of Estonia. Knowing the artist’s thoroughness, such monumental pieces required longer preparation.

“Stronghold” captivates us with its narrative – here we see both realistic builders hoisting heavy logs, as well as boats carrying materials to them across the water, and people bustling around them. Also included in the story as a genuine detail is the fire lit to prepare food for the builders, the stream of smoke from which drifts towards the castle, providing information about the direction of the wind.

This work was exhibited in 1966 at the joint exhibition of the jubilee artists – M. Bormeister, E. Lepp, H. Sarap, A. Vomm, A. Vender and J. Raudsepp – and is listed in its catalogue. At that time, the painting was in the National Library (NR) and was probably deposited there by the Art Fund. It is known that this is the only, or one of the very few, large-scale works by Bormeister with the motif of a fortress in private hands.

Text: Mai Levin, Katre Palm