Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on cardboard. 1963.
Signature: EW63

In the 1960s, Edgar Valter (1929-2006) contributed to several magazines and in 1962, Eno Raud’s “Sipsik” was published, the illustrations for which, together with the Poku and all the other well-known characters invented by the artist, are part of the treasure trove of Estonian children’s literature. At the same time, Valter also did freelance work and even then, one could notice in his artistic baggage the touch of the fairytale world and the surrealism of the 1980s that would arrive in the next decade.

In the 1964 night landscape painting, the main character is moonlight, which shrouds the atmosphere in its strange veil. Even more impressive than the stylized forms characteristic of the era is the spiderweb-like interweaving of blue and pale yellow, framed by the darkness of the night. It seems that decades later, the forest fairies and other fantastic characters in Edgar Valter’s paintings would emerge from just such a night light.

Text: Vappu Thurlow