Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Pastel on paper. 1939.
Signature: AJohani Etüüd “Otepää maastikule”

The depiction of slum life played an important role in the work of Pallas graduate Andrus Johani (1906-1941) – he had even grown up in this environment. The partisanship towards slum romanticism links Johan with Nikolai Kummits in whose works we find the same soulful vision of the subject, depicted through the eyes of a person living there.

In 1939, Johani completed this oil painting, which belongs to the Tartu Art Museum and is also listed among the artist’s most important pieces on Wikipedia. The piece was preceded by a drawing completed in the same year, which bore Johani’s characteristic lightness and aptness.

The bright accents that complement the white-gray-black gamma of the work enhance the joyful atmosphere where excited children have jumped on snowdrifts to enjoy the joys of winter. The artist expressively conveys the bright white reflection of the snow that has fallen on the roof, the gentle glow of which is also distributed around the chimneys and ridge.

An attentive viewer will even find snowflakes swirling in the sky, which the wind spins around in this idyllic view of a small town. This paint was given by the artist’s wife Helene Johani to her good friend from Rakvere as a thank you for taking good care of her mother. It is being auctioned from her estate.

Text: Mai Levin, Katre Palm