Kristina Valdru

The myth of the Estonian War of Independence in the Estonian art of 1920-1940

Summary

The present graduation thesis discusses the painting of 1920-1940 depicting the Estonian War of Independence. The key words are history, myth and art. The works of art discussed in the thesis have been inspired by the War of Independence and the restoration of the Estonian independence.

The aim of the thesis is to present an overview of the painting on the War of Independence, the artists who-painted on the subject, and to study the role of thematic art as a mediator of a historic myth. The thesis is based on catalogues of exhibitions, art reviews and articles from the years 1920-1940 and post 1989, art lexicons, the few surviving paintings, and reproductions,-the number of which-is bigger. The work is illustrated with black-and-white reproductions inside the text and colour photos as a separate appendix.

The first Chapter discusses-problems of the myth of history and the role of art as a-disseminator and-fixator of the myth. The Estonian War of Independence of 1918-1920 was a breaking point in the national history of Estonia. The-highlights of the nation´s history have been reflected also in Estonian national art. National art has its role in the formation of a national identity, especially in a country that has become independent for the first time in its history. With the War of Independence the history of Estonian independence began, and the young republic needed something to generate a feeling of a single nation among its citizens. In certain periods a historic myth is not only inevitable but also necessary for a national identity. In such-cases, the task of art-is to illustrate, disseminate and fix the myth.

The second Chapter discusses the thematic art of 1920s. The first pieces of art concerning the war were painted already in the course of the-War of Independence. The work of the war painters included mainly report-like drawings and paintings, which, as a rule, differ from later work of-artists. The first works of art, which also achieved wider attention, were painted by non-Estonian painters. In 1922, the Russian symbolist Nikolay Kalmakov was the first painter to depict the declaration of Estonian independence. The most well-known painter of battle scenes in the Estonia of-1920s was Maksimilian Maksolly, who was-of Hungarian origin from his father´s side.

The third Chapter looks at 1930s, where art became a tool of propaganda among its other roles. At the beginning of 1930s, the proportion of history painting in art increased, and the middle of 1930s saw the flourishing of the painting. The phenomenon was connected with the beginning of the coup d´état of 1934 and the Silent Era, when Estonian interior policy took an authoritarian course. In 1930s the numbers of order for paintings depicting the War of Independence were high. The institutions of the Defence Army organised contests of thematic paintings in 1934 and 1935. There emerged a circle of painters, who regularly employed the subject of the War of Independence in their work. The most prolific artists of them were Oskar Sädek and Erna Brinkmann. The majority of artists painting on the subject do not belong among the more famous painters in the history of Estonian art. Karl Liimand, Eduard Ole etc. have also painted a few war-theme paintings, diverting from their general course. However, in Estonia there was no mass production of propaganda art typical of the time, as it was in the totalitarian countries of the Europe of the period.

Today the works of arts discussed in the thesis are primarily of historic and cultural value. Most of them have not survived. During the Soviet occupation period, the paintings were destroyed, or missing. There is no complete overview of paintings on the Estonian War of Independence in our literature on the history of art. The present thesis is the first work that tries to present a more comprehensive survey of the known paintings on the subject of the War of Independence and artists who painted them. Estonian history and war paintings certainly need continuing systematic studying.