Kaljo Põllu
(1934–2010)
Estonia. 1995
Colored mezzotint. Plm 50.7 x 38.4 cm (framed)
price 2 900
The work plays colour-coded blue, black, and white. Clouds of white colour are placed at the highest level under the sky, with jets of rays shining through them. Estonia is depicted as sacred and with exactly the same feeling that possesses people singing patriotic songs under the song festival arc. Kaljo Põllu here represents an old life-wise generation who knows what it means to live under a foreign power and bend oneself to absurd commands and prohibitions coming from afar. The work visualises the same spirituality as in the music of Veljo Tormis or the poetry of Hando Runnel. Mezzotint is a technique typical of Kaljo Põllu’s graphic art, it has created a panoramic view with soft contours, giving the impression of even a mythical or fairy-tale landscape, where heaven and earth are in dialogue with each other and the Earth is a living being.