Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on plywood. 1941.
Signature: J. Võerahansu 1941

Johannes Võerahansu (1902-1980) preferred crudely simple motifs, which he enhanced with finely textured painterly execution. We see this in both the work “Beach motif” (1935), which depicts a sparse coastal landscape, and the work “Landscape” (1937), which depicts a dense mixed forest. The artist shares an equal passion for picturesque possibilities in the work “Saaremaa forest in the morning mist”, which was acquired from Võerahansu by a well-known Tartu doctor and art collector in the 1940s. In addition to art, the buyer and seller were united by a deep love for music.

A rhythmic piece of music is also unleashed in this work – both in the flashing brushstrokes and in the alternating depiction of trees standing closer and further away. Võerahansu enjoys the complete peace prevailing in the view, the delicate fusion of colors into each other, the veil of mist quietly caressing the trees, which covers this view of Saaremaa as if with fairy-tale magic. It is in the softness of the treetops that the artist has found his recognizable painting language – a nuance that connects his handwriting with that of Võerahansu’s favorite student, Peeter Mudist. And do you notice how impressionistically he paints the light playing between the branches in the work – it is morning and the nature of the island is quietly awakening…

Mai Levin, Katre Palm