Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Lithograph on paper. 1965.
Signature: EO65 / 3/40 / EOkas

The eternal seeker of emotions, Evald Okas (1915-2011) was always fascinated by exotic types since his youth. In interviews, he has admitted that he sometimes didn’t even notice when, while riding on a bus, he would stare at a passenger’s beautiful hands or distinctive facial features and mentally transfer them to the canvas, making the object of interest feel awkward. With the same open eyes and mind, he traveled around Japan in the 1960s, which left a deep impression on him.

A significant part of the designs created during the trip were small drypoints and litho prints of the beautiful ladies he saw there. In the charming “Japanese Woman with a Fan,” Okas has transferred the image to paper with a flying lightness – just the kind that would convey the elegant state and dignified manner of the geishas. Here, the fan, as an accessory belonging to the traditional geisha outfit, plays an important role both narratively and compositionally.

Text: Katre Palm