Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1964.
Signature: TARTU VAADE 1964.A. ÕLI. 114×146 EEVART ARRAK

Eevart Arrak’s (1936-2014) 1964 view of the city centre of Tartu from Toome hill – a much-loved motif in painting – should be classified as pointillism according to the historical tradition. To be more precise, it most resembles the divisionism of the Frenchman Paul Signac, who used strong colors and where each brushstroke was clearly visible in order to highlight the pure beauty of the intense tones. Signac also paid great attention to atmospheric phenomena and the sky, like the Impressionists before him.

The talented colorist Eevart Arrak painted “View of Tartu” at a time of year when colors are at their brightest in Estonia: in early spring, when the city is dripping with snowmelt under an intensely blue sky, flowing everywhere and the colors of the water are reflected in every puddle. All colors can be clearly seen in the artist’s powerful brushstrokes; they convey the spring-like purple hue of the leafless treetops and the mutely toned facades of Tartu’s classicist houses, which shine through the trees. There is ozone in the picture, which on such a day excites all the senses of those standing on the Toome hill.

Text: Vappu Thurlow