Ellinor Aiki (11 January 1893 – 25 October 1969)Vaal Galeri.
Retrieved 12 May 2016. was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

painter who is possibly best recalled for her works in later life of vibrant and colorful, heavily textured portraits, landscapes and compositions interspersed with whimsical motifs.

Early life

Born Ellinor Blumenfeldt into an ethnically Estonian

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

family in Tõstamaa, she would later change her surname to Aiki in 1935. At age six she suffered a debilitating fall which resulted in her contracting a severe case of bone and joint

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

that would render her bedridden for nearly six years and plague her throughout her life.kultuurikava.ee
Retrieved 12 May 2016. She graduated from secondary school in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

in 1909, after which she worked as a children's hospital attendant and teacher and studied in

St. Petersburg 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, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

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until 1917 when she returned to Estonia.

Studies

Because of her chronic leg pain due to her bone and joint tuberculosis, her studies were often put on hold. In the winter of 1928 she passed entrance examinations to the Pallas Art School 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 ...

at the age of 35, initially studying

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...

. From 1930 to 1934, she studied

monotyping Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix (printing), matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to a ...

at Ado Vabbe's graphics studio and from 1935 to 1936 she studied

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

and

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

with Hando Mugasto. She graduated from the Higher Art School Pallas in 1936 at age 43 after studying painting at the Nikolai Triik painting studio. Among her graduating classmates were artists Johannes Võerahansu, Richard Sagrits and Karl Pärsimägi.

Career

Following her graduation from the Higher Art School Pallas, Ellinor Aiki became a freelance artist in Tartu. In 1937 she worked at the

Vanemuine Theatre Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

. From 1940 to 1941, she was a member of the Estonian Artists' Cooperative (''Eesti Kunstnike Kooperatiivis''.) During the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany she worked at the Tartu Artists' Bureau. Upon the

Soviet occupation of Estonia The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

in 1944, she fled to Germany. However, she returned to Estonia in 1946. Following her return, she was removed from the Estonian Artists' Union by Soviet authorities until 1957, being censured for her use of formalism. During this period, she withdrew from public life and painted very little. Up until her ban from producing art, her ouvre had consisted mainly of paintings of

still lifes A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or human-made (drinking glasses, books, ...

, portraits, cityscapes and landscapes in rather somber, muted hues.ke-kus.ee
Retrieved 12 May 2016. It was not until after her ban by authorities had been lifted in 1957 that Aiki's work become more popular, as her ouvre had changed from somewhat bleak paintings in funereal tones to vivid, bold colored, heavily textured paintings that often incorporated images of fantasy and whimsy; Aiki's work from the early 1960s onward would often include bright oranges, greens and purples.culture.ee
''Ellinor Aiki exhibition "The Rabbit Near Otepää."'' Retrieved 12 May 2016. Although she had studied at and graduated from art school with formal training, she would include strong elements of

naïve art Naïve art is usually defined as visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). When this aesthetic is ...

(

primitivism In the arts of the Western world, Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that means to recreate the experience of ''the primitive'' time, place, and person, either by emulation or by re-creation. In Western philosophy, Primitivism propo ...

) and humorous influences in her works during this period, taking inspiration from fairy tales and poetry.

Death

In the spring of 1969, Estonian art historian Tui Koorti coordinated a personal exhibition of Ellinor Aiki's works at the

Tartu Art Museum The Tartu Art Museum (Estonian language, Estonian: ''Tartu Kunstimuuseum'') is a state-owned museum of art located in Tartu, Estonia. It was founded in 1940 on a private initiative by the members of local art school Pallas. This is the largest ar ...

, with about a hundred of her works from 1928 to 1969 on display. Aiki died that October at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiki, Ellinor 1893 births 1969 deaths People from Tõstamaa People from Kreis Pernau 20th-century Estonian painters Estonian modern painters 20th-century Estonian women painters