Pallas (artists association)
Pallas was an artists' association in Estonia that in 1918 in Tartu was established.
Origin and composition
After the February Revolution of 1917 in the Russian Empire , to which Estonia belonged at the time, and the abdication of Nicholas II , a more liberal climate emerged under the Provisional Government . Many writers who were in exile for political reasons were able to return to Estonia, which at the time was practically untouched by the First World War . That led u. a. in May 1917 to found the Siuru Association , which was not originally intended to be a purely literary group. But since the two artists Peet Aren and Otto Krusten stayed away from further meetings, Siuru went down in history as a purely literary association.
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On January 21, 1918, also before Estonia's declaration of independence on February 24 of the same year, the artists formed an association in Tartu, which was named Pallas . A characteristic of the orientation of Estonian art was that most of the founding members had lived or at least studied in Paris for a long time : the painters Konrad Mägi , Ado Vabbe and Aleksander Tassa , the art historian and art critic Julius Genss and the Estonian politician, feminist and journalist Marie Reisik . The association expanded quickly and took in writers as early as the next year ( August Alle , Johannes Semper , Gustav Suits , Friedebert Tuglas and others), which symbolized the close cooperation between the various arts in the new state.
activity
The primary goal of the association was to improve training opportunities for young artists, which is why the establishment of an art (high) school had priority. This was achieved in 1919 with the establishment of the Pallas Art School , which was upgraded to an art college five years later.
The association was also committed to promoting Estonian culture abroad and, for example, brought out a German-language collection in 1927:
- Almanac of Estonian Poetry and Art. Pallas-Verlag, Tartu 1927. 120 p. (Contains black and white reproductions by Konrad Mägi , Voldemar Melnik , Anton Starkopf , Nikolai Triik , Ado Vabbe , Jaan Vahtra , Eduard Wiiralt , poems by August Alle , Johannes Semper , Gustav Suits , Henrik Visnapuu , a burlesque by Aleksander Tassa , novellas by August Gailit and Friedebert Tuglas as well as an article on the Estonian visual arts by Mart Pukits and an overview of the Estonian poetry by Henrik Visnapuu).
After the Sovietization of Estonia, the association was dissolved.
Exhibitions
In total, the association organized 22 regular exhibitions, in addition to these smaller special exhibitions. Contemporary art from abroad was also exhibited - for example by Otto Dix , Natalija Sergejewna Gontscharowa or Mikhail Fyodorowitsch Larionow as early as 1921 - although it was works from private collections.
literature
- Sirje helmets: Eesti kunsti 100 aastat. AS Eesti Meedia, Post Factum, Tallinn 2018.
- Konrad Maier: The fine arts in Estonia since the 19th century. Between dictatorship and freedom? In: Cornelius Hasselblatt (ed.): Different inputs - same output? Autonomy and dependence of the arts under different social-economic conditions: the Estonian example. Shaker, Maastricht 2006, pp. 89–114 (contains 12 color plates).
- Tiina Nurk: Kõrgem kunstikool Pallas 1919–1940. Täiendatud ja parandatud väljaanne. Tänapäev, [Tallinn] 2004.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 416.
- ↑ Sirje Helme: Eesti kunsti 100 aastat. AS Eesti Meedia, Post Factum, Tallinn 2018, p. 15.
- ↑ Eesti kunsti ajalugu. 5. 1900 - 1940. Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, Tallinn 2010, p. 21.
- ↑ Eesti Entsüklopeedia, Vol. 7. Tallinn 1994, p. 162.
- ↑ Eesti kunsti ajalugu. 5. 1900 - 1940. Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, Tallinn 2010, p. 21.