Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on masonite. 1981.
Signature: Saarniit / Joann Saarniit “Üksildus” 1981.

Tough and crisp,
alone and far away,
but the power does not wane.

Because the roots are in the ground
and the branches tame the winds of the prairie.
New shoots are on the way,
so that we can last longer.

Joann Saarniit (1909-1984) may have thought something similar as he had already lived and worked in Canada for over 30 years at the time of creating this emotional piece, where he had arrived in 1948 after the turmoil of war. After all, it was Saarniit, a man who received his art education under August Jansen and Kristjan Raud, who was one of the preservers of Estonian-ness in Canada and the leader of Estonian art life there.

Upon closer inspection of the initially monochromatic painting, a much broader color palette emerges. The tree trunk alone and the snow at its base demonstrate the artist’s nuanced sense of color and deep tonal shades. Therefore, in this stark landscape, open to the elements, we can see the homesickness and thirst for life of people left behind in a foreign land.

Text: Regina Mets