Elmar Jaanimägi (sometimes also credited as Elmar Janimägi, March 4, 1907 – November 3, 1937) was an Estonian artist and caricaturist.

Early life and education

Jaanimägi was born 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 ...

, the son of the railway worker Hans Josua Jaanimägi (previously Janimeggi, 1873–1955) and Katharina Anette Jaanimägi (née Runge, 1878–?). He attended and studied at the State Industrial Art School from 1923 to 1924. He trained further at Anatoly Kaigorodov's studio.

Career

Jaanimägi first worked as a poster artist for cinemas in Tallinn and

Nõmme Nõmme ( Estonian for ' heath') is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 39,422 () and covers an area of , population density is . The district is largely a middle-class, suburban ...

. In 1931, he traveled abroad, where he held exhibitions of his caricatures in Latvia and Lithuania. In 1929, he worked as a set design artist for the drama film ''

Dollarid ''Dollarid'' (Dollars) is an Estonian feature film made in 1929. It was directed by Mihkel Lepper, and the screenplay was written by Konstantin Märska. The sets were designed by Elmar Jaanimägi. The film is considered lost. Plot Evi Koit, a ...

''. From 1930 to 1931, he worked with the cinematographer and entrepreneur

Voldemar Päts Voldemar Päts (19 July 1878, Tahkuranna – 27 June 1958, Toronto) was an Estonian artist, art teacher and politician. He was the younger brother of statesman and 1st President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is th ...

at the studio of the well-known photographer on Suur-Karja Street in Tallinn on the first Estonian animated film, ''

Kutsu-Juku seiklusi ''The Adventures of Juku The Dog'' (1931) () is the first Estonian experimental animated short film, written and directed by Voldemar Päts (cinematographer), Voldemar Päts, produced by , and with animation by the cartoonist Elmar Jaanimägi. F ...

'' (The Adventures of Juku the Dog). The film premiered at the Modern cinema in Tallinn on April 30, 1931. He was so interested in cartoons that in January 1937 the newspaper wrote that Jaanimägi was making a new cartoon, ''Kaval Ants ja Wanapagan'' (Crafty Hans and the Old Devil). For this purpose, drawn sample characters were already ready, which were also published in the newspaper. However, this film was never completed.

Death

In 1937, Jaanimägi went to work and live in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Two months later, on November 3, 1937, he was the victim of a stabbing in Viipuri (now Vyborg, Russia). His killer was a drunk former office clerk, Eero David Taurio, with whom he shared an apartment there. Jaanimägi's funeral took place on November 13 in the crematorium chapel in Helsinki, Finland, and his body was cremated. His sister brought the ashes to Estonia, where they were buried in

Hageri Hageri () is a Populated places in Estonia, small borough () in Kohila Parish, Rapla County, northern Estonia. As of the 2011 Estonian census, 2011 census, the settlement's population was 212. Hageri has an area of 105 ha. People associated wi ...

cemetery. A commemorative stone with a drawing from the film ''Kutsu-Juku seiklusi'' stands on his grave.

Exhibitions

*1932: Caricature exhibition in Tallinn at Harju Street () no. 37 *1933: Caricature exhibition 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 ...

*1933: Caricature exhibition in

Narva-Jõesuu Narva-Jõesuu is a seaside resort town in northeast Estonia. It is located by the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, on the west bank of the Narva River, which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. Narva-Jõesuu marks the northea ...

*1935: Caricature exhibition 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 ...

*1936: Caricature exhibition in

Võru Võru (; ; ) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish. History Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, at the request of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, by the o ...

Filmography

*1929: ''

'' (Dollars): set design *1931: ''

'' (The Adventures of Juku the Dog): animation

References

External links

Elmar Jaanimägi
at the

Estonian Film Database The Estonian Film Database (, abbreviated EFIS) is an electronic film database launched online in 2012. Its purpose is to thoroughly describe Estonian film heritage, to collect film information about Estonian films, their producers, content, th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaanimagi, Elmar 1907 births 1937 deaths Artists from Tallinn People from Kreis Harrien 20th-century Estonian male artists Estonian caricaturists Estonian people murdered abroad People murdered in Finland