Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on cardboard. 1960s.
Signature: EW

In a 1975 interview with Martti Soosaar, Edgar Valter (1929-2006) described one of the most memorable experiences from his youth in Southern Estonia by Lake Vaikjärv: “It was too beautiful to be told believably. A moonlit, completely silent night, so that every crack could be heard infinitely far away. Dogs could be heard barking from somewhere and it was sauna day, so you could jump straight from the sauna over the boat bridge into the jetty of Vaikjärv” (https://arhiiv.err.ee/audio/vaata/ohtu-kunstniku-ateljees-ohtu-kunstniku-ateljees-edgar-valter).

Valter transferred the emotional charge he received from his powerful experience with nature into this painting and kept it as a source of inspiration and light for many decades on the chest of drawers in his studio in Nõmme. The light from the glowing celestial sphere filled the room with a magical glow, which was also reflected in the 1985 ERR program “Ateljeekonsert” where this work is shown (from 4:18 onwards) (https://arhiiv.err.ee/video/vaata/ateljeekonsert-edgar-valter).

Art historian Harry Liivrand writes: “ This landscape painting by Edgar Valter is one of the best examples of depicting nature in moonlight in our art. The work, which depicts a lakeside meadow, has a predominantly cold but sultry full moonlight, a mystical atmosphere and mystery. The white streaks of the clouds match the shimmer of the water and the ochre rushes in the foreground add coloristic richness to the dominant greenish-blue tonality.”

The work will be auctioned from the Edgar Valter estate.

Text: Katre Palm, Harry Liivrand