Eduard Ole facts for kids

Eduard Ole (born May 20, 1898 – died November 24, 1995) was a famous Estonian painter. His amazing artworks are still shown today at the Kumu Art Museum of Estonia.

Eduard Ole also wrote two books about his life. They were called Suurel maanteel ("On the Big Highway"). He published them in Sweden in 1973. Later, in 2010, new versions of these books came out in Estonia.

Early Life and Art Styles

Eduard Ole was the seventh of eight children in a farming family. From a young age, he loved art. He saw many modern artworks in books and visited museums in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Learning to Paint

Between 1914 and 1918, Ole studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia. There, he was very inspired by a style called Expressionism. This art style often shows feelings and ideas rather than just what things look like.

Cubism in Estonia

In 1918, Estonia became an independent country, and Ole moved back home. He worked as a theater designer and drawing teacher. By 1923, he became a full-time artist.

That same year, he and two other artists, Friedrich Hist and Felix Randel, started a group in Tartu. They held many art shows to try out Cubism. Cubism is an art style where artists break objects into geometric shapes. Even though Ole experimented with Cubism, his paintings always kept a connection to the real world.

Their Cubist art used simple shapes and bright colors. A good example is his painting Natüürmort kitarriga (English: Still life with a guitar) from 1925.

Ole's Cubist period ended around 1926. After that, he started drawing with India ink. Some of his works from this time include Rannal (English: At the Beach) from 1926, and Jalgpallurid (English: Football players) from 1926–1927.

Trips to Paris and Portraits

In 1925, Eduard Ole showed his art in Paris at a big art show. This led to a study trip to Paris in 1927. The trip gave him many new ideas for his art.

Parisian Inspiration

While in Paris, Ole painted scenes from the city. These included Pariisi motiiv (English: Parisian motif) and Pariis, Eiffeli torn (English: Eiffel Tower, Paris).

After his first trip to Paris, Ole's art changed. He moved away from strict Cubism. He started painting large scenes with people, using softer colors and gentle tones. During this time (1929), he painted Reisijad (English: Passengers). He also created colorful paintings of Estonian landscapes, like Lõuna-Eesti maastik (English: South Estonian Landscape) from 1932–1933.

Famous Portraits

In the early 1930s, Ole began painting portraits of important Estonian people. His series started with Dirigent Simmi portree (English: Portrait of Conductor Simm) in 1931. This painting won first prize in a national contest! He also painted Kirjanik August Gailiti portree (English: Portrait of Writer August Gailit) in 1932 and Konstantin Pätsi portree (English: Portrait of Konstantin Päts) in 1936.

Ole made a second study trip to Paris in 1937. After this trip, his landscape paintings became more dramatic, as if he sensed big changes were coming. In 1941, he painted Narva Hermani kindlus (English: Hermann Castle in Narva).

Life in Scandinavia

In 1939, Ole married Helmi Metsvahi.

Leaving Estonia

During World War II, Estonia was occupied by Germany (1941–1944). To stay safe, Ole left Estonia in 1943 and went to Finland. There, he continued to paint portraits of Finnish cultural figures and landscapes. His wife stayed in Estonia.

In 1944, Ole moved to Sweden to avoid more conflict. He became a Swedish citizen in 1951. He could not visit Estonia again until 1990, just before Estonia became independent once more.

New Artistic Style

In Sweden, Ole worked as an illustrator for the Nordic Museum in Stockholm. He helped record cultural monuments. But his art style changed a lot after he traveled to Lapland and northern Norway.

In these northern places, Ole saw new kinds of light, powerful natural shapes, and strong contrasts of colors and textures in the fjords. His art became more vibrant and dramatic. He started using a style similar to Post-impressionist Pointillism, where small dots of color create an image.

You can see this change in his 1948 paintings like Motiiv Stockholmi saarestikust I (English: Motif from the Stockholm Archipelago I). His later works, like Teekond Jotunheimi mägedesse (English: A Journey to the Jotunheimen Mountains) from 1952, show even more vibrant colors and less clear outlines. These paintings were influenced by other Nordic artists like Edvard Munch.

Later Works

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ole's style changed again. He went back to simpler shapes, similar to Cubism, but also with a touch of Naïvism (a simple, childlike style). He moved from landscapes to paintings with figures. These figures looked natural but were simplified in a classic way.

You can see this final change in his self-portrait from 1979, Autoportree, and Uue pesa ehitamine. Eskiis (English: Construction of a New Nest. Sketch) from 1991.

In 1981, Eduard Ole received the Culture Award for Estonians living in Sweden. He was buried in the Metsakalmistu (Forest Cemetery) in Tallinn, Estonia.

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