Paul Burman (28 February 1888 in

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

– 3 June 1934 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

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n painter and graphic artist of

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

descent. He was the elder brother of architect and painter

Karl Burman Karl Burman sen. ( – 10 May 1965) was an Estonian architect and painter. Burman was born in Sumy, Russian Empire. His younger brother was artist Paul Burman. In 1900 he attended the Stroganov Art School in Moscow, and then between 1901 and 190 ...

. Burman moved to Estonia with his family in 1892. The family had roots in the country. He studied at Peetri Reaalkool (now, Tallinna Reaalkool) in

. Between 1905 and 1906, he studied at

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 ...

's studio school. From 1907 until 1908, he was an external student () at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

in St. Petersburg. He studied at the Stroganov School of Art in Moscow from 1908 to 1909 and with Latvian painter

Vilhelms Purvītis Vilhelms Purvītis (3 March 1872 – 14 January 1945) was a landscape painter and educator who founded the Latvian Academy of Art and was its rector from 1919 to 1934. Biography Vilhems Purvītis was born in Zaube Parish (now Cēsis Munici ...

in 1911 at the

Art Academy of Latvia The Art Academy of Latvia () is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to the National Museum of Art. In aut ...

. In 1912, he stayed for a short time at the Académie Russe in Paris, and lived for about a year surrounded by the Estonian artist colony in Paris with

Jaan Koort Jaan Koort (6 November 1883, Sootaga Parish ( Äksi), Tartu – 14 October 1935 in Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), ...

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- ...

and Aleksander Tassa. In 1914, he lived for a while in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and in Germany and returned to Estonia in 1915. He is considered as the first Estonian

animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. "Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...

. Burman made many paintings of horses. In the initial period of his work, he mainly painted and drew animal and nature pictures, landscapes and still lifes. He also created some portraits, drawings, etchings, woodcuts and illustrated children's books (''Koduloomad'' and ''Metsloomad'', 1912). His depictions of the city, flowers and landscapes are picturesque, bright in color and varied. He has been considered one of the first

impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subjec ...

in Estonia. Later creation was more restless, the works expressive. Many of his works were destroyed in a fire during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but many of them survived in various private collections.

Gallery

Paul Burman Estonian Kunst.jpg, ''Katarina Elevator'' Paul Burman - Stockholm painting.jpg, ''Stockholm'' Paul burman Stroomi.jpg, ''Motif of Stroomi beach'' Paul Burman. Tolli str.jpg, ''Tolli Street'' Paul burman maastik hobustega.jpg, ''Landscape with horses'' Burman Bulvaar.jpg, ''Boulevard'' Raekoja plats Tallinnas, Paul Burman, EKM j 403 M 1755.jpg, ''Raekoja plats'' File:Maastik majaga, Paul Burman, EKM j 283-70 M 1302.jpg, ''Landscape with a House''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burman, Paul 1888 births 1934 deaths 20th-century Estonian painters 20th-century Estonian illustrators 20th-century Estonian male artists Estonian children's book illustrators Estonian graphic artists Impressionist painters Estonian people of Baltic German descent People from Kamianets-Podilskyi Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry alumni