Evald Okas

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Evald Okas (* November 15 . Jul / 28. November  1915 greg. In Tallinn , † the thirtieth April 2011 ) was an Estonian painter and graphic artist.

Life

Evald Okas was born in the Estonian capital as the son of Karl and Alviine Okas . He attended primary school in Nõmme and high school in Tallinn . From 1931 to 1937 he studied at the Staatliche Kunstgewerbeschule under Voldemar Mellik , Roman Nyman and August Jansen . In 1939 he entered the State Higher Art School, where he intensified painting under his teacher Johannes Greenberg . Okas graduated in 1941. In 1939 he first took part in an exhibition in Tallinn.

With the Soviet occupation of Estonia and the German invasion of the Soviet Union , Okas was drafted into a labor battalion of the Red Army in 1941. From 1942 he belonged behind the front to the Soviet-Estonian artist collective in Yaroslavl . There he was also a co-founder of the Estonian Artists Association ( Eesti Kunstnike Liit ) in 1943 . He established a close relationship with the Estonian artist Eduard Einmann .

In 1944 Okas returned to his homeland. He was appointed as a lecturer at the so-called State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR from 1951 . Okas initially held the chair for painting and later for graphics. In 1954 he was appointed professor. In 1993 he became an emerit professor at the Tallinn Art School.

As one of the first Soviet-Estonian artists, Okas was also allowed to travel abroad. He got to know Central Asia, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Japan, India, the USA, Canada, Italy and Greece, among others.

Artistic work

Evald Okas was one of the most productive visual artists in Estonia of his time. He left behind a varied work. These include monumental paintings , panel paintings , graphics and bookplates , nude drawings, portraits, landscape paintings and ceramic works. In the 1940s and 1950s in particular, historical themes and images of war were in the foreground of his work. In 1947 he created the 91 square meter monumental ceiling painting in the Estonia Theater in Tallinn together with Elmar Kits and Richard Sagrits .

From the impressions of his trips abroad, he later implemented numerous impressions in his painting and graphic work. From the 1970s onwards, he increasingly turned to the nude. His illustrations of the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg from 1960 are also famous. In 1987, Okas created the monumental mural “Friendship of Nations” in the main hall of the Estonian History Museum at Maarjamäe Castle in the style of Socialist Realism . Over 50 exhibitions at home and abroad were devoted to the work of Evald Okas.

In 2003, a museum in honor of Evald Okas was founded in the center of the western Estonian city of Haapsalu from private donations. The permanent exhibition shows numerous works by the artist. There are also special exhibitions. The museum is housed in a former tavern from the 19th century.

politics

In addition to his artistic work, Evald Okas was also politically active. From 1963 to 1971 he was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR . From 1974 to 1983 he was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR .

Awards

From 1948 Okas was awarded the State Prize of the Estonian SSR six times, in 1963 the title of "People's Artist of the USSR". In the same year he was made an honorary member of the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence . In 1975 he was accepted into the Academy of Arts of the Soviet Union, of which he had been a corresponding member since 1962.

Private life

Evald Okas was married to Mari Okas (1918–1995). He died in Tallinn in 2011 at the age of 95 and is buried in the local forest cemetery. Evald Okas is the father of the painter Mari Roosvalt , the glass artist Kai Koppel and the architect and graphic artist Jüri Okas .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evald Okas November 28, 1915– April 30, 2011 Obituary on postimees.ee
personal data
SURNAME Okas, Evald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Okas, Evalʹd Karlovič (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Estonian painter and printmaker
DATE OF BIRTH November 28, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Tallinn
DATE OF DEATH April 30, 2011
Place of death Tallinn