Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 2022.
Signature: TV22 / AVARUS 2022 õli. l. 31×100 TOOMAS VINT s. 1944 / Toomas Vint 2022

“Voidness does not go away.
Filling the void
is all that is –
both in rhyme, frame and space.”

Excerpt from Doris Kareva’s poem

The charm of the landscapes of our most important painter of metaphysical art, Toomas Vint (b. 1944), lies primarily in their treatment of light and color. The similarity between Vint’s work and Rene Magritte’s “Empire of Light”, which was sold at Christie’s auction last year for $121 million, was also pointed out by art historian Heie Marie Treier (Kunst.ee, 2025/1, p. 6), and indeed, the strange combination of night and daylight characterizes both.

“Colors live a life of their own in Toomas Vint’s works, like musical themes. The color transitions from sunny yellow-green tones to shaded greenish-blue create a symphony. The light blue sea waves over the grass, leaving its color in it and then, rolling over the greenery, rises to the sky, tinting it as well,” said, speaking of Vint’s unique approach to color and light, Moscow art historian Maria Šaškina (“Toomas Vint”, Tallinn, 1993).

In “Open space”, the painter Mall Nukke sees an ideal Estonian landscape in a spacious setting with a single tree and adds: “This painting is made in every way according to the rules of traditional landscape paintings, where the weather is given pride of place. The scent of Dutch art is especially noticeable here. The rules of the golden ratio ideal composition have been followed: there are few details but they are all in the “right” places. Harmony and balance come first. The color scheme is simple, represented by cold blue-green tones. Not a single red spot. A very whimsical painting.”

Text: Katre Palm, Mall Nukke