Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on plywood. 1982.
Signature: Eevart Arrak 82. / EEVART ARRAK “LILLETURG” 115×126

Eevart Arrak (1936-2014), a landscape and figure painter born in Võru County, studied at various art studios in Tartu, including at his brother Erich Arrak’s art school, skillfully synthesizing different styles in his work. As an excellent colorist, Eevart Arrak enjoyed the music of colors, which he also demonstrates in this composition with a symbolist undertone and a lyrical mood.

Arrak combines several activities in one of Tartu’s most crowded meeting places: here you can find a stall symbolic of the market, flower sellers, and a girl holding a bright bouquet of daisies in the foreground. In a landscape intertwined with people and flowers, the sensitive portrayal of both is truly remarkable. Amidst daisies, lilies, asters, and peonies, people stand, seemingly in intimate dialogue with the plants.

In Arrak’s figurative compositions, we often encounter a person looking thoughtfully into the distance, well beyond the field of view, and so is the case here. And let us note that he does not only use this technique for the girl standing in the foreground but also separately highlights the long-haired girl standing on the right, who looks more into herself than at her surroundings.

The scene emerging from the abstracted color palette in bright hues remains suspended in the air, emphasizing the recognition that we are faced with an idealistic imaginary picture, a composite image of emotions from Tartu in August.

Text: Vappu Thurlow, Katre Palm, Harry Liivrand