Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1956.
Signature: EKÕKS 56 / EKõks Trubaduurid 1956

The 1950s were a period of experimentation for Endel Kõks (1912-1983), a Pallas graduate who fled to Sweden. This is when he combined the colorism and aesthetic subtlety he had acquired in Pallas with the stylization and decorativism a la Fernand Léger that had become characteristic of the post-World War II Parisian school of painting.

The figures of the troubadours playing two instruments are framed and organised by a geometric framework, the models’ physiques are generalized to the point of being iconic but the densely patterned ornamentation of the clothing and capes also become eye-catching components. The painting exudes the lyricism inherent in the troubadours’ identity and the composition is visually perfectly worked out.

Text: Harry Liivrand