In Estonian art history, the period 1770–1840 represents a time of great changes. Having healed from the wounds of the Northern War, the Baltic Sea province, which had been away from the crossroads of culture for a decade, found a new beginning in the middle of the 18th century, which brought the winds of the Enlightenment to the German-speaking and pro-German provinces of the Russian Empire. New ideas as well as artists and architects arrived in Estonia, who were not satisfied with the previous artisanal level of the Tsunfti masters and who saw the higher peaks of professional art culture. By taking over the taste and fashion from the larger art centers, the task of art was to confirm the belonging of the local population to the western cultural area. In the conditions of the colonial rule, it gave the entire period a certain elitist attitude, emphasizing the will to move forward towards harmony and integrity, characteristic of the era with large pillared manor buildings and the quiet, idyllic landscapes surrounding them. One of the most important keywords of the period is utopia, striving for the unattainable. The complex and contradictory relations between the cosmopolitan art culture and the local political and social conditions form an inevitable framework for this in these areas. This volume presents the reader with a colorful and diverse picture of the various artistic impulses of this period. In addition to urban planning and architecture, painting and sculpture, which were inspired by high-flying European ideas and found their place in the internally tense, but formally interesting art culture characteristic of the border area, attract attention, in which each individual artifact has its own unique content and meaning.
Edited by Juhan Maiste
Editor-of-chief of “History of Estonian Art”: Krista Kodres
Edited by Anu Lepp
Authors: Lilian Hansar, Dorothee von Hellermann, Hilkka Hiiop, Juta Keevallik, Tiina-Mall Kreem, Krista Kodres, Inge Kukk, Linda Lainvoo, Imants Lancmanis, Mai Levin, Juhan Maiste, Kadi Polli, Georgi Smirnov, Moonika Teemus, Kristiina Tiideberg, Epi Tohvri, Anne Untera, Gerd-Helge Vogel.
504 pages, in Estonian and English
SA Kultuurileht, Estonian Academy of Arts, 2017
ISBN 978-9949-972-44-9