Herald Eelma
Herald Eelma | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 March 1934 Võhmuta, Järva County, Estonia |
| Citizenship | Estonian |
| Education | State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR (ERKI) |
| Known for | Printmaking and book illustration |
| Movement | Severe style |
| Awards | Kristjan Raud Art Award (1981, 1986) Grand Prize, 5th Tallinn Print Triennial (1980) Order of the White Star, 4th Class (1999) |
Herald Eelma (born 26 March 1934) is an Estonian printmaker, book illustrator and art educator.[1] He is regarded as one of the artists who renewed Estonian printmaking in the 1960s and 1970s and, together with Peeter Ulas, as a representative of the Estonian variant of the severe style.[2][3] He is especially known for his illustrations for editions of A. H. Tammsaare's Truth and Justice and the Kalevala.[4][5]
Early life and education
[edit]Eelma was born in Võhmuta in Järva County.[1] He graduated from Paide Secondary School in 1953 and then entered the State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR, graduating in 1959 as a printmaker.[1] He joined the Estonian Artists' Association in 1961 and became one of its honorary members in 2004.[1][6]
Career and work
[edit]After graduating, Eelma taught watercolour at the Estonian State Art Institute from 1960 to 1962 and then worked as a freelance artist until 1992.[1] In 1992 he joined Tallinn University of Arts as a lecturer in drawing, and from 1995 to 2000 he served as a professor and head of the drawing chair at the Estonian Academy of Arts.[1][4] He also taught at the Varsinais-Suomen Kansanopisto in Paimio, Finland.[1]
Eelma began exhibiting soon after graduation as both a printmaker and a book illustrator.[3] His diploma work, illustrations for Truth and Justice, was already seen as an early demonstration of his individual artistic language.[3] Later exhibition and curatorial texts have characterised his work by generalized motifs, a clear and economical line, and a gradual shift from the human figure toward landscape and nature motifs.[3][4] A Kumu Art Museum exhibition on 1970s Estonian graphics situated his work among the more subjective and surrealist tendencies in the medium.[7]
In 1972 Eelma was one of seven artists from Soviet Estonia included in Printmaking Today, a satellite exhibition of the 36th Venice Biennale at Ca' Pesaro.[8] Art-historical scholarship has described that appearance as an unusual and important international presentation of Estonian printmaking during the Soviet period.[8]
Book illustration has remained a major part of Eelma's oeuvre.[4] His principal illustrated books include editions of Tammsaare's Truth and Justice (1964–1969), Martti Haavio's Kalevala lood (1981), Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's Põhja konn (1981), the Estonian-language Kalevala (1985), and Kalevalan kuvat (Oulu, 1987).[4][9][10][11] Works from his Kalevala cycle are held in the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia.[12]
Eelma remained active into the 21st century. In 2014 he presented the retrospective exhibition Aeg in Tallinn, and in 2019 a survey exhibition, Avatud värav, opened at Endla Theatre Gallery in Pärnu.[4][3]
Honours
[edit]Eelma was named Merited Artist of the Estonian SSR in 1975 and People's Artist of the Estonian SSR in 1983.[3] He received the Grand Prize at the 5th Tallinn Print Triennial in 1980 for the lithograph House.[13] He also received the Kristjan Raud Art Award in 1981 and 1986, the Jaan Jensen Prize in 1982 and 1986, and the Order of the White Star, 4th Class, in 1999.[4][14] In 2014 he was named Graphic Artist of the Year by the Association of Estonian Printmakers.[15]
Selected illustrated books
[edit]- Tõde ja õigus (illustrated editions, 1964–1969)[4]
- Kalevala lood (1981)[9]
- Põhja konn (1981)[10]
- Kalevala (1985)[5]
- Kalevalan kuvat (1987)[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Õnnitleme Herald Eelmat!". Eesti Kunstnike Liit (in Estonian). 26 March 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ Vilgats, Ester (24 October 2019). "Pärnus näeb läbilõiget graafik Herald Eelma loomingust". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f "Herald Eelma isiknäitus „Avatud värav"". Endla Teater (in Estonian). Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Herald Eelma. AEG". Vabaduse galerii (in Estonian). Eesti Kunstnike Liit. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b "Kalevala". DIGAR. National Library of Estonia. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ "Honorary members". Eesti Kunstnike Liit. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ "Personal and Public Space in 1970s Estonian Graphics". Kumu Art Museum. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b Soomre, Maria-Kristiina (2012). "Art, Politics and Exhibitions: (Re)writing the History of (Re)presentations" (PDF). Kunstiteaduslikke Uurimusi / Studies on Art and Architecture. 21 (3/4): 106–121. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b "Kalevala lood : Martti Haavio ümberjutustus lastele E. Lönnroti koostatud soome rahvuseeposest "Kalevala"". DIGAR. National Library of Estonia. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b "Põhja konn : [muinasjutt]". DIGAR (in Estonian). National Library of Estonia. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ a b "Kalevalan kuvat / Herald Eelma". Helka. University of Helsinki Library. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ "Herald Eelma. Illustration for the Epic Kalevala. Canto XV". Art Museum of Estonia Digital Collection. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ "1980". Tallinn Print Triennial. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ "Riiklike autasude andmine". Riigi Teataja (in Estonian). 2 February 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ^ "Aasta Graafik 2014 - Herald Eelma". Association of Estonian Printmakers (in Estonian). 12 January 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2026.