Eesti kunsti oksjonid
Ervin Foerster “Napsi talu”
Kevadoksjon 2025
Oil on plywood. 1930s.
Signature: E. Foerster
| Measurements | 31 x 42 cm |
|---|---|
| Starting price | 1 200 € |
| Number of bids | 1 |
| Hammer price | 1 200 € |
Ervin Foerster (1893-1960), who received his art education in both Riga and St. Petersburg, stood out in Estonian art in the 1920s and 1930s as an active participant in exhibitions, and his realistic landscape paintings – mainly coastal and farm landscapes – also found a positive response among critics.
His exhibition pieces often featured views of Viljandi and its surroundings as does this painting of the Napsi farm, which belonged to Foerster’s good friend Artur Ekbaum. After fleeing to Canada in 1944, the enterprising Ekbaum, who received his own higher education in Germany and Switzerland, became the founder and leading activist of the Toronto Estonian Union Bank and the Estonian Aid Committee there. But already while living in Estonia, Ekbaum managed to achieve a lot as a social activist to improve life here. Among other things, he made the farm in the painting so prosperous that he used the income to educate all his younger siblings.
We notice the impressionistic approach of his teacher, the great landscape painter Vilhelms Purvitis, in Foerster’s brushwork. Having received strong training in plein air painting from him, Foerster understood the importance of the softly flowing landscape of Mulgimaa in the background in conveying context and therefore devotes half of his work to it.
However, the view in these lush, delicious summer tones represents something much more than just a historical record of a specific farm. It tells the viewer about the hopeful life that prevailed in the 1930s, the warmth of home and dreams of a better life, education, and opportunities. And this is also the main charm of Foerster’s art – to paint the simple and everyday into sublime lyricism.
Due to their outstanding quality, Foerster’s works have also been commissioned as official art purchases and have been used by state institutions. Three of his landscape paintings are also part of the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia. This painting comes to auction from the collection of art historian Mari Pill.
Text: Katre Palm