Eesti kunsti oksjonid
Nikolai Kull “Jalutuskäik Toompeal”
Kevadoksjon 2025
Oil on plywood. 1930s.
Signature: N. K. / MA ARMASTAN SIND Mu kallis tütar
| Measurements | 40 x 30 cm |
|---|---|
| Starting price | 2 800 € |
| Number of bids | 1 |
| Hammer price | 2 800 € |
Nikolai Kull (1894-1945) was a poetizer of Tallinn’s Old Town and an eternal chronicler of its beauty. He had the skill and eye to find new angles when painting well-known objects, as can be seen in this painting: the beginning of Pikk Jalg on Toompea Hill. Directly in front is a small house, which later became known as the Bogabot café and studio, and behind it is the gate tower of Lühike Jalg. It is interesting in terms of color that Kull uses brown tones to depict the street and buildings but the spire of Niguliste repeats the color of the blue sky to contrast the brown.
Yet this intimate painting is so much more than just a representation of the architecture of the Old Town – through three human silhouettes placed walking on the street, Kull awakens the urban space, telling the story of the lives of the people passing by the houses every day, who so naturally blend into the atmosphere of the Old Town.
Text: Harry Liivrand