Balder Tomasberg (1897,

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- ...

– 1919, near

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) was an Estonian artist.

Biography

Tomasberg was born in Paldiski and moved to

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 ...

in 1913. He initially worked as a draughtsman at a construction company and studied art in evening classes given by the , with

Nikolai Triik Nikolai Voldemar Triik (7 August 1884, Tallinn – 12 August 1940, Tallinn) was an Estonian Modernist painter, graphic artist, printmaker and professor. His work displays elements of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography He came from a middle- ...

as his teacher. In 1915, he ended his art studies, and in early 1916 participated in an exhibition arranged by the Estonian Art Society. He was subsequently drafted into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and sent to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

to work as a decorator of stage sets for soldier theatres. He returned to Estonia in 1917 and together with his friend, sculptor

Roman Haavamägi Roman Gottfried Haavamägi (until 1937 Espenberg; 15 February 1891 Tallinn – 3 January 1964 Haapsalu) was an Estonian sculptor, painter, and graphic artist.Eesti kunsti ja arhitektuuri biograafiline leksikon (EKABL). Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeed ...

, a circle of artists called , which gathered several students of

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 ...

, including Aleksander Mülber and Välko Tuul. The works of the group were exhibited together in the autumn of 1918, and Tomasberg contributed with several works with themes from the island of

Pakri Islands Pakri islands (, ) are two Estonian islands in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea: Suur-Pakri and Väike-Pakri ( and ). Administratively the islands are part of the town of Paldiski. For centuries the two islands were inhabited by Estonian Sw ...

, where the group had lived as an art colony. Later that year he volunteered to fight in 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 ...

and was mortally wounded in the fighting three months later. His work consists of paintings made in

pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

s and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

, as well as

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,1897 births 1919 deaths People from Paldiski People from the Governorate of Estonia 20th-century Estonian painters 20th-century Estonian male artists 20th-century Estonian artists Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Estonian Academy of Arts alumni Estonian military personnel killed in action