Eesti kunsti oksjonid
Eduard Wiiralt “Noor araablane”
Kevadoksjon 2025
Mezzotint on paper. 1940.
Signature: Wiiralt 1940 / CASABLANCA 19.VII.1938 / gr. a la Mariere Noire 1940. / E. Wiiralt
| Measurements | plm 24,3 x 24 cm |
|---|---|
| Starting price | 2 900 € |
| Number of bids | 1 |
| Hammer price | 2 900 € |
Eduard Wiiralt’s (1898-1954) period in Morocco (1938-1939) gave him new energy and enabled him to create prints that more deeply captured the essence of the subject. Wiiralt received inspiration for his trip to Africa from many sources, including the travels of Ants Laikmaa and Friedebert Tuglas, as well as conversations with other cultural figures. For example, in 1938, Wiiralt had Tuglas’ book “Morocco” sent to him, and inspired by all of the above, he set off himself in July 1938.
“Young Arab”, a portrait of a boy with velvet eyes, was Wiiralt’s first mezzotint engraving, which he completed in Estonia in 1940. While the model’s hands often convey the mood in Wiiralt’s works, here all the attention is focused on the expressive deer-like eyes, which are a kind of interesting parallel to Virve’s eyes looking at the sky, which was completed in Estonia three years later. Both of them are rooted in a deep psychological tension that only a great master like Wiiralt can convey so convincingly.
Text: Katre Palm