Seagull/Talking Heads, Villu Jaanisoo, 2006
It was certainly an eye opener for me to see the permanent collection of the KUMU. As if that wasn’t enough, I was also treated to the Latin American Art temporary exhibition with works by Diego Rivera and Fernando Botero. On this post, I’ll show images from the permanent collection only as there was quite a lot of Latin art on display that merits a separate post. Come back to read all about it.
Villu Jaanisoo is a sculpture graduate of the Estonian Academy of Arts where he also served as the head of the Department of Sculpture in the 2000s. He uses non traditional materials for his sculptural pieces like rubber, plywood, sound and others. In the Seagull installation, he took 86 busts of children, heroes, Stalin from the Museum collection to create a roomful of “heads” backed by an archive of interviews conducted with these subjects playing on repeat and creating a cacophony of sounds in the exhibition room, hence the moniker Talking Heads.
Chairs I - II, Villu Jaanisoo, 1989
Chair is one of a series of sculptures by Jaanisoo using car tires. According to the Museum label of the Chairs, “The gigantic size of the chair provides the viewer sitting on top of it with a new perspective of himself or herself and on the surrounding space in general.”
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Chairs I - II detail
The Arrival of the Artist R. Rajangu and assistants in Viljandi, Raul Rajangu, 1988
Mixed media, collage, carpet, styrofoam, canvas
In creating this work of art, Rajangu combines the relief technique with ready made
elements like the tapestries to tell a narrative influenced by the work of Victor Vasnetsov, a Russian artist.
Detail of The Arrival of the Artist in Viljandi
Notice how the artist carved the roofline, the windows, the walls and the decorative elements on the façade.
Detail of The Arrival of the Artist in Viljandi
This tapestry from the collage was influenced by an 1898 painting, Bogatyrs, by Victor Vasnetsov.
Detail of the tapestry
View of Tallinn with Hattorpe Defensive Tower, Alexander George Schlater, oil
The interior of Hermann Bluhm’s house in Tallinn, Carl Sigismund Walther, 1841
This is a rare view of the interior of the house of a wealthy physician in 19th century Talinn. It offers a glimpse of the comfortable lifestyle of a family. There are paintings on the wall and Biedermeier furniture carefully placed in the room. In the corner is the widow of Bluhm who is on her deathbed. She is surrounded by her daughter and daughter-in-law who is nursing her baby.
The Sail, Tönis Saadoja and Neeme Külm, 2021, installation
Estonian, Balkan German and Russian cultural influences have shaped Estonian art through centuries. It provides both a visual perspective as well as a historical view of traditions intrinsic to each of these communities.
This composition of portraits reflect the importance of portraits in Baltic German artistic heritage. Family portraits filled manor houses in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hence this collection of portraits of ladies, gentlemen, officials and generally the elite who could afford to pay for their portrait is displayed on this unique sail-shaped wall.
Landscapes of Identity: Estonian Art 1700-1945, Permanent Exhibition
Landscapes of Identity: Estonian Art 1700-1945, Permanent Exhibition
Posters
Eastern European art would be bereft without these posters which were important to communicate not only local advertisements and announcements but also political propaganda. The central poster is by Paul Luhteina entitled III Car and Engine Exhibition for the Ford Exhibition in May 1930. The left poster is a political campaign poster for the Estonian Labor Party. The poster on the right announces the exhibition of student works from the school of arts and crafts, also by Paul Luhteina. There are many more posters displayed in the Museum.
Linda carrying a stone, Oscar Kallis, 1917, oil
Boulders found in Estonia are souvenirs from the last Ice Age. Its previously unknown origin had become part of local mythical stories. In the Estonian national epic, The Son of Kalevi, his mother is described as carrying one of these boulders to the grave of her recently deceased husband. Kallis interprets the narrative by portraying a woman who dominates the canvas and owns it. Her supernatural strength in carrying the boulder is synonymous with the burden women carry selflessly through life.
Table, Eduard Ole, 1924, oil
Ole studied art in Russia for two years before returning to Tallinn where he founded the Group of Estonian Artists in 1923. They experimented in Cubism though Ole kept his figurative style. The Table reminds me of Cezanne’s still life compositions with the exception that Ole employs bright colors in comparison to Cezanne’s softer palette. Ole exhibited his works in Paris in 1925 at the Salon des Independents. He returned to Paris to study art in 1927 and 1937 .
Bathers, Kuno Veeber, 1926, oil
Again I’m reminded of other painters, in this case, Renoir and even Rubens. The wonder of art is that one can study the techniques applied by various artists of the same subject over a period of time. It never gets boring. Veeber delivers the Bathers in abstract style and bathes the subjects in pastel colors.
Ruum (Space) II, Sirje Runge, 1979, oil on canvas
Applying few colors and geometric shapes (circle, triangle and square), this painting seems to move the longer you look at it. This style of painting is known as “geometric abstractionism”.
Market, Rein Tammik, 1983, oil
This was my favorite painting in the museum. The artist captured the smoke wafting in the air. It’s almost tangible. And the market scene gives me a palpable view of what it was like to go to that market in those days.
Leonhard Lapin, Suprematism and Socialism, 1989
In this painting, the hammer and the sickle clash portending the fall of the Soviet Union.
Longing for Lost Space Exhibition, Sirje Liisa Eelma
Eelma is a minimalist, conceptual painter. She employs a soft, pastel palette and gentle strokes to create a serene canvas which gives the viewer a sense of rest and reflection. Longing for Lost Space is on view at KUMU till March 30, 2025
If you have the chance to visit Tallinn, add KUMU to your must see itinerary. It’s an enlightening look at what was happening in the arts scene for two centuries on the Eastern bloc. It fills some of the gap that was left out in art history studies of Europe. The architecture of the museum is an added reason to visit. There’s an entrance fee. And bags cannot be carried into exhibition rooms. They have to be left at the lobby coat rack.
Estonian Art Museum (KUMU)
Kumu Café
After a long but satisfying day at the museum, I had to stop by the Café on the ground floor to have late, late lunch and rest my feet for a while. They have light meals including pastas and Asian noodles as well as cakes and pastries.
How to get there
Estonian Art Museum (KUMU) is on Valga 1 in Kadriorg Park
According to museum information, bus lines 31, 42 and 67 will take you to the museum. I took an Uber to the Museum which is away from the city center. The price of the fare is reasonable and I was dropped off at the entrance facing Kadriorg Park which is easier to access for those with mobility issues.
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Images by TravelswithCharie