Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1990.
Signature: U. Roosvalt 1990 / UNO ROOSVALT S. 1941 “VAADE TALLINNALE” 1990 ÕLI, L. 80X290

It is no wonder that Uno Roosvalt (b. 1941), who trained as an artist under the tutelage of Lepo Mikko and Johannes Võerahansu, has always been drawn to the water. After all, he spent the first 12 years of his life in Kuusalu on the Northern coast where his father was a pastor – the young boy only had a few kilometers to go from there to the sea.

For Roosvalt, who settled in Maarjamäe in 1969, the view of Tallinn’s Old Town from the area became a daily companion. This is how this powerful, almost 3-meter-long panel is born through a loving, nostalgic look at the motif. Roosvalt approaches it creatively and spontaneously, one might even say playfully – this is how the Estonian capital appeared to him from the Merivälja coast.

If it weren’t for the forest of tower cranes rising in the harbor, the piece would seem to show a 17th-century panorama of Tallinn from Olearius’ travel book. Roosvalt undoubtedly pays homage to the historical view here, emphasizing Tallinn’s antiquity but at the same time also showing the lush nature located just a stone’s throw from the city center.

Thus, the blue-toned city silhouette is enlivened by the brownish-toned and wind-flickering depiction of nature, which adds an accent that compliments the view so characteristic of Roosvalt, not to mention the snow-white seagulls added with a brisk brushstroke, which border both sides of the painting.

The piece has been part of the same collection since its completion and has returned to Estonia after 20 years in Switzerland where a powerful handmade frame was also made for it.

Text: Katre Palm, Harry Liivrand