Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on cardboard. 1958.
Signature: Moss 11 juuli 58

In the second half of the 1950s, Tartu re-emerged as an innovative environment in Estonian painting, and Valve Janov (1921-2003) was one of the young painters from the university city who immediately gained a reputation as a talented artist. Typically for the Tartu school of painting, the artists there painted small-scale pieces that could easily be placed in a study or on a wall at home.

“Flowers on a checkered background” is a painting to which Janov painted similar pastel-toned counterparts a few decades later and which are part of the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia: “Flowers on the roof” (1971), “Flowers on an oval table” (1976), and “Flowers with the moon” (1983).

This painting is an excellent example of the expression that rehabilitated Impressionism, which was in disrepute at the time of its completion: an airy, unpretentious work with pastel colors and a simple motif. Janov most likely kept it to herself in the fifties. The vividness and freshness of the bouquet is highlighted by the geometric-patterned wallpaper, which also harmonizes with the flowers in the vase to form a beautiful whole.

Text: Harry Liivrand, Katre Palm