Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1994
Signature: LEIS 1994

Malle Leis, who was equally interested in floristry and figure painting, began one of her most powerful nature series in the 1990s, a work based on the white birches and dark spruces of her country home. From different weather maps, she created both a view to the South and a view to the West, both portraying trees. Of these, “View to the North” with its crisp Nordic coloration clearly stood out from the others, primarily in its more monumental approach and inclusion of a figurative element.

Leis’ landscapes were built on distinctly different rules of perspective than usual and therefore acquired a mythological undertone. This painting’s metaphysical effect is amplified by the dark-toned central plan and two nude figures whose presence defines the essence of the entire design. Leis places these unearthly beauties on an undefined landscape that feels like both water and dry land at the same time.

However, there is still a lot of Estonia in this dreamlike landscape: light birch trunks reflecting the blue-black-white color scheme and a forest patch in the distance, buried in the mist – important symbols of our nature. Ambiguity is therefore consciously programmed into the piece and according to art historian Boris Bernstein, this was also the secret of Leis’ popularity with the public: “Her art combines a simple and universally understandable vocabulary with a refined syntax, resulting in a picture in which every viewer will find something for themselves (“Malle Leis: A Contemporary Estonian Artist”, 1989).

The painting is included in the voluminous book “Malle Leis” published by the Tartu Art Museum in 2014, on page 147.

Text: Harry Liivrand, Katre Palm