Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Mezzotint on paper. 1972.
Signature: Eesti maastik. Metsotinto 20/50 / K. Põllu, 1972

In determining the epic and ethnographic direction of Kaljo Põllu’s work, “predecessors in the Estonian artistic tradition could be found in the romantic-symbolist, sometimes visionary views of nature of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (Konrad Mägi, Nikolai Triik, Balder Tomasberg). Here there is reason to talk about certain attributes of Nordicness: untouched wilderness, northern light and white nights, a single tree as an allegory of vitality, expanses of water related to the symbolism of national self-consciousness or the otherworldly, etc.” Ingrid Sahk has written in her master’s thesis “Nature in the Picture: Landscape Motifs in Estonian Art 1890–1919” (University of Tartu, 2005).

In Põllu’s works from the “Estonian landscapes” series, we often encounter night light, as well as the rounded forms that carry it, which can be interpreted as the moon, the sun, planets and clouds at the same time. In this print, the viewer can simultaneously find themselves in both daylight and night light, imagine themselves in the middle of this mystically impressive big world, where peace and knowledge come from simply observing nature. Põllu makes us look within ourselves, search, and find the most important thing there.

Text: Katre Palm