Jüri Arrak
(1936–2022)
Preliminary work for the linocut 'Three People'. 1964
Ink, gouache, paper. Lm 49.8 x 40.2 cm (framed)
price 2 700
Jüri Arrak’s rare ink drawing, of which there is one and only one, evokes – or rather anticipates – linocut, a reproducible graphic technique. Viewed as a stand-alone work, it may seem strange that the artist has attempted to draw with ink as if he was carving an image into lino. Two serious-faced men and a woman, obviously working people, stand static, but their psychology is conveyed by a play of eyes – one man’s gaze is directed at the woman, whose gaze is directed at another man, whose gaze is directed elsewhere. That is the way it is in life, unfortunately, sometimes, that someone’s attention does get the other person’s attention. The low horizon allows us to imagine an endless sky as a backdrop, bringing out the people in the foreground.