Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on masonite.
Signature: John Saarniit

In the work of Joann Saarniit (1909-1984), we very often encounter a body of water – be it a dramatic sea, a lake hidden between rocks or a winding stream. In a way, it also metaphorically sums up his own life path – escaping from a train on the way to a Soviet prison camp and walking across the lake-strewn Russian landscape to reach his new homeland. Arriving across the ocean, with warm days spent on the coast of Saaremaa as only memories.

“Colorful autumn” carries signs of finally finding peace, mature beauty and harmony. Here, we do not see the broad strokes of a spatula that we are used to seeing in seascapes but a finely tuned glorification of natural colors instead. The quietly flowing stream, however, leads the eye into the distance where the endless expanse spreads out.

Text: Katre Palm