Eesti kunsti oksjonid
Marju Mutsu “Kunstnik”
Sügisoksjon 2025
Etching on paper. 1977.
Signature: Kunstnik, ofort / M.Mutsu 77
| Measurements | plm 49 x 40 cm |
|---|---|
| Starting price | 2 000 € |
| Number of bids | 8 |
| Hammer price | 8 800 € |
Most of Marju Mutsu’s (1941-1980) portraits are staged, complemented by unique details and a narrative space surrounding them; conventionality had no place in her portraits, as in her other works.
Mutsu often loved to use the “picture within a picture” technique. In this piece, she has borrowed the central motif of the Sistine Chapel ceiling: God reaching out from His heavenly height to Adam’s limp hand, which thereby comes to life. Such a metaphor for the act of creation frames a portrait of an artist, as if comparing him to Michelangelo. It is almost like declaring him immortal. It is therefore difficult to assess what percentage of this declaration could have been ironic and what percentage Biblically serious. This artist is Jüri Arrak, who lived a long life full of creative brilliance.
The work is reproduced in the artist’s monograph “Marju Mutsu” on page 174 (Tallinn 2009) and is also part of the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia.
Text: Vappu Thurlow