Nikolai Voldemar Triik (7 August 1884,

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 ...

– 12 August 1940, Tallinn) was an Estonian

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

painter, graphic artist, printmaker and professor. His work displays elements of

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

and

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Biography

He came from a middle-class family. After graduating from the public schools in 1901, he enrolled 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 ...

, but was expelled for participating in a student strike during the

1905 Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. He returned home and continued his studies at the private art school operated 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 ...

, but later went back to Saint Petersburg to take lessons from Osip Braz. The following year, he accompanied Konrad Mägi and Aleksander Tassa on a trip to

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

and spent some time in Helsinki at the school operated by the "Finnish Art Association". Not long after, he married the daughter of a wealthy factory owner and moved to Paris, where he sampled courses at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

, the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

and the

École des Beaux-arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

. When his studies there were completed, he visited Norway, then went to Saint Petersburg again and audited classes at the art academy operated by

Nicholas Roerich Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (), better known as Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, philosopher, and public figure. In his youth he was influenced by Russ ...

. For the next two years, he moved between Saint Petersburg and

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 1911, he began producing an art section for a magazine published by the literary association, Noor-Eesti ( Young Estonia), and created a series of works based on Estonian folklore. Following more travels to Copenhagen and Berlin, he settled in Estonia permanently in 1913, working as an art teacher. In 1916, he became a member of the governing council of the "Eesti Kunstiselts" (art association) and, from 1919 to 1920, was in charge of Fine Arts at the Estonian Ministry of Education. That year, he joined a progressive art association named "Pallas" and went to Tartu to teach at their school. From 1922 to 1926, he gave private lessons at his own studio in Tartu, then worked as a freelance artist until 1928. Five years later, he became the first Estonian to be named a Professor of Art. His second wife, Viktoria (the daughter of Mihkel Martna), died in 1935, aged only forty-four. He fell ill early in 1940 and returned to Tallinn, where he died shortly after.

Selected works

File:NIKOLAI TRIIK 1905-1909 Väikelinna vaade.jpg, ''View of a Small Town'' (1905–1909) File:Triik-Konrad Mägi.jpg, ''Portrait of Konrad Mägi'' (1908) File:TKM 3094B, Jaht, Nikolai Triik.jpg, ''Hunt'' (1913) File:NIKOLAI TRIIK 1914 Soome maastik.jpg, ''Finnish Landscape'' (1914) File:NIKOLAI TRIIK Võitlus hydraga.jpg, ''Fight with the Hydra'' (undated) File:Nikolai Triik, Lennuk.jpg, '' Lennuk'' (1910) Nikolai Triik. Old Garden TKM 0567M.jpg, ''Old Garden'' (1917) Nikolai Triik TKM 0060A.jpg, ''From the Window (Tallinn)'' (1913) Nikolai Triik TKM 0193B.jpg, ''Portrait of Pr. V. Triik-Martna'' (undated)

References

External links

Nikolai Triik: Estonia's Master Modernist
an interview with Liis Pählapuu, Curator of KUMU @ Tallinn Arts (with enlargements of paintings)
Eesti Modernism
More works by Triik @ 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 ...

More works by Triik
@ the Digitaalkogu of the Art Museum of Estonia.
Exhibition "Nikolai Triik. Classics of the Modernist Era"
@ Culture.ee {{DEFAULTSORT:Triik, Nikolai 1884 births 1940 deaths Artists from Tallinn People from Kreis Harrien Expressionist painters Estonian portrait painters Estonian landscape painters 20th-century Estonian painters 20th-century Estonian male artists Young Estonia École des Beaux-Arts alumni Académie Julian alumni Académie Colarossi alumni

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links