Aleksander Promet (10 November 1879, in

Kreenholm Kreenholm ( for ''crow islet'') is a river island in Estonia, located in the Narva River, within the city limits of Narva. The island is in area, and is long and wide. The island divides Narva Falls into eastern and western branches; the Est ...

– 18 September 1938, in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) was an Estonian painter and graphic artist.

Biography

His parents were blue-collar workers who were employed at the

Krenholm Manufacturing Company The Kreenholm Manufacturing Company (historical alternate spelling: Krenholm; ; ; ) was a textile manufacturing company located on the river island of Kreenholm in the city of Narva, Estonia, near the border with Russia. It is situated along the b ...

.Obituary, 29 September 1938, in ''

Päevaleht ''Päevaleht'' was a daily newspaper published in Estonia from 1990 to 1995. History and profile On 1 February 1990, the newspaper ''Noorte Hääl ''Noorte Hääl'' (meaning ''Voice of Youth'' in English) was a daily newspaper published in ...

'' From 1897 to 1904, he studied at the

Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy The Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (; abbreviated as СПГХПА) is the oldest school of design in Russia. It occupies a parcel of land immediately to the east of the Summer Garden in Saint Petersburg. History ...

, specializing in

textile design Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of Textile, cloth or Textile, fabric, which is subsequently printed upon or otherwise adorned. Texti ...

.Brief biography
@ Haudi Kalmistute Register. Thanks to a government scholarship, he was able to continue his studies in London, but stayed only a few months before going to Paris and becoming involved in the art community there instead. As a result, his scholarship was cancelled in 1906 and he returned to Estonia, establishing a workshop in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. In 1907, he became one of the first members of the Estonian Art Association, founded by

Ants Laikmaa Ants Laikmaa (5 May 1866, Araste – 19 November 1942, Kadarpiku) was an Estonian painter. Life Ants Laikmaa (until 1935 Hans Laipman) was born at the Paiba farm in Araste, Märjamaa Parish village. He was the 13th child of a poor Estonian fami ...

. His first major exhibition came in 1909, where his paintings of folk motifs were especially popular.Obituary, 20 September 1938, in ''

Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...

'' This was followed in 1912 by exhibitions in

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

and

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. He also worked as a teacher in

then, from 1917 to 1919, was a freelance artist in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. He returned home during the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

, living in Petersi until 1922, then in

Tõrva Tõrva () is a town () in Tõrva Parish, Valga County, southern Estonia. It is located on the banks of the Õhne River. Tõrva has an area of and a population of 2,800 (as of 1 January 2009), making it the second largest of the three towns in ...

and finally in

Paldiski Paldiski is a seaside Populated places in Estonia, town in northwestern Estonia, located on the Pakri Peninsula and adjacent Pakri Islands, Pakri islands in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. It is the administrative centre of the Lääne- ...

, where he worked as an art teacher. In 1925, he settled in Tallinn, working as a freelance artist and occasional lecturer. Despite his association with the left-wing publisher , his art remained apolitical and he was opposed to the

Neo-Romantic The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in philosophy, literature, music, painting, and architecture, as well as social movements, that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism. It has been used ...

approach of the group "

Young Estonia Young Estonia () was a neo-romantic literary group established around 1905 and led by the poet Gustav Suits and short story writer Friedebert Tuglas. Other members of the group included Villem Grünthal-Ridala and Johannes Aavik. Gustav Suits ...

". Most of his works, even his landscapes, tended to focus on folklore and mythology and he produced a large series of paintings based on the national epic ''

Kalevipoeg ''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th-century epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic. Origins In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition, known as ...

''. He was married twice.

Lilli Promet Lilli Promet (16 February 1922 – 16 February 2007) was an Estonian author. Life Promet was born in Petseri to the Estonian painter Aleksander Promet. After graduating from Tallinn Primary School No. 18, she entered the State Industrial Art S ...

, the novelist, was his daughter.

Gallery

File:Promet-Goblin.jpg, ''Kratt'' (1906) File:Promet Autumn.jpg, ''Autumn'' (1920s) File:Promet Harju park.jpg, ''Harju Park'' (1920s) File:Valged krysanteemid ALEKSANDER PROMET.jpg, ''White Chrysanthemums'' (1920s) File:Kalevipoeg kündmas.promet.jpg, ''Kalevipoeg Plowing'' (1934) File:Promet-Birch.jpg, ''Mourning Birch'' (ca. 1936)

References

External links

More works by Promet
@ the KUMU digital catalog. {{DEFAULTSORT:Promet, Aleksander 1879 births 1938 deaths People from Narva Estonian landscape painters 20th-century Estonian painters 20th-century Estonian male artists Estonian graphic artists Burials at Liiva Cemetery

Biography

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links