For several years now, Erich von Kügelgen (1870–1945) has been emerging from the shadow of his more famous artistic relatives – Carl, Gerhard, Constantin and Sally – into the focus of art-historical interest. His sombre, surface-oriented Symbolist painting has long proved difficult for viewers to interpret, and scholarly engagement with his work was hampered by the lack of biographical material. In preparation for the major Kügelgen exhibition of 2023–2025, previously unknown documents have come to light in the family archive, which the author has subjected to scholarly analysis. Numerous surviving letters reveal a man marked by a troubled childhood and a lifelong inner conflict between two professions, that of painter and that of physician, a tension he processed through his art. This article situates his life within the turbulent era endured by many Baltic-Germans, who after 1914 found themselves homeless, torn between Germany, the Baltic region and the Russian Empire and caught between competing observances and loyalties. Erich von Kügelgen’s biography appears almost prototypical of these destinies. Amid this confusion, the late-vocation artist sought orientation and found it in the German-Russian painter Sascha Schneider (1870–1927), whose life and work are likewise introduced and set in relation to Erich’s. Closer examination, however, also reveals distinctly individual narrative and humorous aspects of Kügelgen’s art. Finally, the Tartu exhibition drew attention to Hermann von Kügelgen, Erich’s father. The son of celebrated landscape painter Carl, Hermann distinguished himself in Tartu as a teacher of drawing and design, and as a progressive spirit who anticipated Bauhaus concepts in Tartu.
The past is always irretrievably lost; nevertheless, we are left with our heritage and photographs. In some cases, the two may also coincide. On one hand, photographs themselves form part of our heritage, and on the other hand, they are used to document our heritage. In this article, I discuss how photography affects our engagement with the past, shapes our understanding of the past, and recreates the past in the present day. Photography is instrumental in shaping concepts and practices central to many approaches to heritage. Examples can be considered in this article of heritage presentation and interpretation, as well as surveying and archiving processes. Documentation is an integral part of heritage preservation, conservation, and restoration. Since all objects can be considered as sources of information, the preservation of heritage can also be viewed informationally. Since its introduction, photography has actively participated in the process of defining heritage and also in its institutionalization. Heritage, regardless of its location, is easier to grasp and handle in visual form. The use of photography significantly changed the way the general public experienced architecture. Through photographs, distant objects suddenly became closer. The circle of individuals who had visual knowledge of architecture increased noticeably. Photography contributed significantly to the introduction of heritage objects and thus to the broader use of the term "heritage" itself. Today, conservation/restoration can no longer be imagined without photography. Again, this is not something particularly surprising, since photography was developed in addition to the previously used methods of visual representation. It must be recognized that photography helped make the describing and surveying of monuments more accurate. Photography did not bring a radical change to the documentation of monuments, but was smoothly integrated with visual practices that had been in use until that day in age. Photography also plays an important role in the theoretical discussion of conservation/restoration. The central problem of conservation and restoration is the question of object authenticity. Photography's association, whether apparent or not, with nature and objectivity allowed it to be used to support various theoretical concepts. Obviously, the relationship between heritage and photography is not unilateral or clearly defined; it is a complex interaction between multifaceted phenomena.
As the Sailing Regatta of the 1980 Summer Olympics was going to take place in Tallinn, it was accompanied by a large-scale and ambitious plan for urban development, which shaped the city's constructional image remarkably. This article studies the preparations for the Tallinn Olympic Regatta within the framework of the concept of Olympic urbanism, treating the construction plans linked with the regatta as an autonomous type of city planning. The aim is to analyse how the planned, partially realised and unrealised building projects reflect the construction dynamics and spectacle characteristic of the Olympic cities. The article is based on the author's master's thesis, Tallinn Under Full Sail. Olympic Urban Change Shaping The City, at the University of Tartu in 2024.71 The article does not concentrate on the architectural analysis of single objects, but on the building programme as a whole-its political background, planning process, and impact.
In this article I analyse the late medieval wall paintings in Rym & auml;ttyl & auml; Church (Finland), dated 1514. I focus on the wall paintings in the porch and the large Last Judgement painting on the east wall of the nave. The porch, considered a liminal zone, serves as a transitional area that marks the boundary between the secular outside world and the sacred interior of the church. I argue that the morality motifs and the Mother of Mercy motif depicted in the wall paintings in the porch prepared the viewers to enter the church and see the Last Judgement scene in the nave. The themes of bad morals and mercy in the images of the porch played an important role in reinforcing the passion history of Christ and the salvation of the soul at the Last Judgement. Via images, the porch played a crucial role in reinforcing the shared Christian worldview, as individuals passing through it symbolically renew their commitment to this worldview. Drawing on the theories of liminality, as well as art historian Paul Binski's ideas on cathedral portals, the article situates the porch within the broader context of medieval art, highlighting the societal functions of images therein.
One of the most important research topics in Estonian art historywriting is manorial architecture, which Estonian researchers haveactively focused on for the last couple of decades. While substantialprogress has been made, the last few years have challenged previouslyknown results, brought new perspectives, and introduced newresearch questions that await further investigation. Research onthe manorial period nevertheless continues to be constrained by thefragmented historical development of the region, which has resultedin a considerable portion of relevant source material – particularlythat related to Baltic-German culture – being preserved outsideEstonia. In this context, the city of Marburg in Germany stands outas a place where two world-renowned research centres – the HerderInstitute and the Foto Marburg Image Archive – hold material relatedto the topic complements, and in some cases expands, the sourcesalready available in Estonia.Based on research conducted during a fellowship at the HerderInstitute at the end of 2024, this article provides an overview ofBaltic-related collections held at both institutions and presentsrecent discoveries concerning Estonian manorial architecture, witha particular focus on wooden manor houses, which has been arelatively under researched topic for decades. Drawing on previouslyunderexplored archive and visual sources – particularly historicalphotographs from the beginning of the 20th century –, the articleaddresses several questions related to noble residences, associatedeconomic buildings, interiors: to the ensembles as a whole. In doingso, attention is drawn to several manors and buildings that havebeen destroyed, on which there is no material evidence in Estonia.This brings to the fore buildings that were not previously knownto research on the topic. In addition, the article pays attention toother related material, such as libraries and memorabilia, andto the memories that await researchers, thus emphasising themethodological value of combining compatible material from bothinstitutions for future research.
The oldest art objects in the Eastern Baltic region date back to the Mesolithic period, while portable figurines are only known from the second half of the 7th millennium BC. These figurines, made of bone or antler, are rare. Our article focuses on a unique zoomorphic birch bark tar figurine discovered at the Pulli settlement site (8950-8300 BC). A comprehensive analysis was conducted, complementing previously published chemical analyses. The methods included microscopic examination of surface treatment traces, direct radiocarbon dating, 3D scanning, photogrammetry, and computed tomography. The results indicate that the figurine's shape was deliberately formed through intentional scraping or planing, particularly in the neck and head areas. Preservatives used on the figurine penetrated through deep cracks, influencing the outcomes of chemical and radiocarbon analyses. This artefact, probably representing a seal, has no known analogues among the hunter-fisher-gatherer art of the Mesolithic period (9000-6000/2800 BC) in the European forest zone. It is probably the oldest portable figurine from the Eastern Baltic region.
The article follows the travels of a richly carved limestone fireplace that was originally located in 71 Pikk St, Tallinn. It was commissioned by local merchant Jacob H & ouml;ppener in 1653; in the middle of the 19th century it was sold and taken to Russia. Several Baltic German heritage enthusiasts produced descriptions of the artefact, but after the historical upheavals of the beginning of the 20th century lost sight of it. From the middle of the century, Estonian art historians studying stone carvings and restoring the building made efforts to find the fireplace, but in vain. The paper examines the archival, printed and web sources about the artefact and traces it to its new locations, first in St Petersburg and then in Tsarskoye Selo. The fireplace's new owners, the princes Kochubey, used it to enhance the Historicist interiors of their residences. During the Soviet period the artefact's provenance was forgotten and it was inaccessible to the public. In recent years, the fireplace has been reintroduced to a wider audience; a new origin story and a new interpretation of its iconography have been proposed and popularised by the Kochubey Centre. The article brings together the sources and results from researchers in different countries who have studied this mobile artefact over one and-a-half centuries. The rediscovery of the H & ouml;ppener-Kochubey fireplace is a solution to a longstanding mystery, and the artefact has welcome similarities to Renaissance era stone carvings in Estonia. This case study also uncovers information about the sale of antiquities, the use of those antiquities in interior design, the interests and goals of collectors, and knowledge transfer through learned societies in 19th century Estonia, Latvia and Russia.
The current study gives an analytical overview of the medieval (13th-15th century) wall-painting techniques and materials used in Estonia. The research is mainly based on visual observations at specific locations and on micro stratigraphic sample analysis using optical and electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Additionally, microchemical spot tests were carried out to determine the presence of organic additives in paint layers. Samples from twelve churches were examined (Ambla, J & auml;rva-Peetri, Koeru, T & uuml;ri, Martna, Ridala, Muhu, Valjala, P & ouml;ide, Kaarma, L & uuml;ganuse, Haljala). Three paint layer samples, originating from P & ouml;ide, Koeru and Ambla churches, were analysed by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method to determine the type of organic binder additives used in the paints. The article presents the information gained from the first analytical and comparative material study of the wall-paintings preserved in medieval Estonian church architecture. Microscopic analysis of the stratigraphy of plaster and paintings revealed the usual layered structure in the examined paintings: typically, a preparatory limewash layer was applied to the plaster before the mural painting, though in two cases, the painting was executed directly on the plaster. The findings indicate that dolomitic lime of different quality is the main and most common binder in both the underlying plasters and lime wash. Aerial calcitic lime was used for the limewash in only two paintings. Building on these insights, an experimental study was conducted to replicate the original technique, aiming to practically test the wall painting methods employed during the studied period. The focus is on the interior paintings as well as two examples of the exterior decoration. The study contributes to local and regional technical art history and to conservation specialists' better preservation decisions.
This article aims to define the basic concepts of fashion deconstruction and its artistic means of expression. Based on a comparative study of clothing collections by Ukrainian, Belgian and Japanese fashion designers, this study identifies the main features of deconstruction, and ways to interpret these features across time and in cultural and spatial terms. The visual investigation of clothing collections focused on shape, principles of clothing construction, silhouette, use of material and colour, and the technological processing of garments. Emphasis is placed on conceptual and ideological aspects, the use of symbols and references, and the relationship between the practical function of clothing and modes of wearing. The article outlines common and distinct features of deconstruction in the studied examples and illustrates how the same principle can be interpreted differently. The leading names in Ukrainian fashion deconstruction and its specific manifestations in design are also analysed here. As a result of this research, a practical framework for analysing clothing collections from the perspective of deconstruction is proposed, grounded in its theoretical principles.
The article focuses on two Latvian artists who can be associated in different ways with the notion of fl & acirc;neurism at the beginning of the 20th century-Gustavs & Scaron;& kcedil;ilters and J & amacr;zeps Grosvalds. The two artists, in parallel with the visual heritage they created, also left written testimonies of their experiences while staying in various European metropolises, among which Paris was of a special importance, as both resided there for a considerable amount of time. It is important to examine these artists' first-hand experiences based on written sources as well as visual art testimonies that allow us to track their journeys and habits in large modern cities. Latvian culture and art history have not so far examined the visual and written heritage left by the two artists in the context of fl & acirc;neurism, so it is particularly important to look at their observations of the great cities of Europe. The written and visual heritage left by both artists allows us to associate them with the concept of fl & acirc;neurism, as both were drawn to long, leisurely walks through cities, observing the surrounding modern life and the relationships between the individual and the city, analysing and recording them, evaluating society and commenting on social phenomena. The attitude of Gustavs & Scaron;& kcedil;ilters and J & amacr;zeps Grosvalds towards the modern city, the way of expression and the vocabulary they used are different. In his texts & Scaron;& kcedil;ilters tends to romanticise what is observed, conjuring up living scenes before the reader's eyes. He also seeks to distance himself from the image of the fl & acirc;neur; for him the fl & acirc;neur is an interesting object of observation, a characteristic, inseparable phenomenon of Paris. J & amacr;zeps Grosvalds, on the other hand, genuinely embodies the image of the fl & acirc;neur, despite his dandyism, which manifested itself most vividly in the early years. In Grosvalds' art, which gradually develops and leads him to the title of the founder of Latvian modernism, becoming one of its most significant representatives, there is much more frequent use of the images of people in the urban environment, and he proves his ability to perceive the essential in every situation he experiences. Gustavs & Scaron;& kcedil;ilters and J & amacr;zeps Grosvalds fit into the general pattern of observers and describers of modern cities in the early 20th century and can be analysed in the context of fl & acirc;neurism, which is the main goal of this article. Since this is the first study to deal with Latvian artists from this perspective, its research should undoubtedly be continued, including not only the two artists considered here, but also other artists and their visual and literary legacies.
The concept of a fashion magazine, born in seventeenth-century France, caught on quite quickly in other European countries. Many European cultures either directly copied the French magazines or produced their own versions. Lithuanian culture, however, produced a fashion magazine neither in the early days of female-oriented fashion periodicals, nor later. The purpose of the article is to review the historical circumstances that prevented the occurrence of a fashion magazine in nineteenth-century Lithuania and reflect on the reasons why. The text explores the objective material and factors around fashion information consumption in the Lithuania of the nineteenth century, such as socio-political, linguistic issues, the urban environment, and the context of the printed press. Surviving examples of nineteenth-century fashion discourse in the periodicals Tygodnik Wilenski and La Limande are introduced as the solitary cases of fashion publication in the territory of nineteenth-century Lithuania. The underdevelopment of consumerism, lack of urbanisation and absence of explicit national self-identification are suggested as the main reasons that there was no national fashion magazine.
Before the devastation of the Second World War, the well-preserved historic city Narva, on the eastern border of the Republic of Estonia, was known as a pearl of late 17th century Swedish Baroque architecture. The development of the most promising economic and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Sweden in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland was halted as a result of the Great Northern War. However, after the bloody and destructive siege of 1704, there was a short period in which Peter I tried to highlight Narva as his victory trophy, which was to undo the disgrace of his previous defeat in the Narva battle of 1700, resulting in several construction projects (for example the house, or “palace”, of the Tsar himself and the remodelling of one of the churches into the orthodox cathedral). According to the personal testimony of Domenico Trezzini, famous first architect of St Petersburg, his first work in Russia was the city gates in Narva. Letters exchanged between construction project leader Ulyan Senyavin and governor general Alexander Menshikov confirm that the “architect from St Petersburg” was heading the construction of the city gates at least in 1705. Moreover, Peter I probably personally revised the design for the sculptural programme, demanding the figure of Paul the Apostle be set above the gates. The citations of these and other relevant sources were published by the recent biographer of Trezzini Konstantin Malinovsky, attracting the attention of the author of the present paper. Partly because of misinterpretations of earlier Russian authors Malinovski did not manage to reach a conclusion as to whether it was a temporary triumphal arch in the place of the breach, or a real city gate, and if so which gate. In the Russian State Military Historical Archives in Moscow, among a full set of drawings documenting the fortifications of Narva as of 1728, i.e. shortly after the Great Northern War, there is also one sheet dedicated to the Emperor´s Gate that surprises with its rich sculptural decoration. During the Swedish era the new gate designated for the same location, in between the bastions of Gloria and Honour, was to be called the King´s Gate. Despite the opinion of the eminent Swedish art historian Sten Karling that this gate was built of stone before the 1704 siege, a closer look at the Swedish fortress plans (especially that of 1703 found only recently) makes it highly improbable. It is quite likely that the gate was made by Trezzini out of carved stones collected on the site before the war, which might explain the close resemblance of its architecture to the earlier Swedish fortress gates, especially Karl´s Gate in Riga. The Emperor´s Gate on its own became the prototype for Peter´s Gate at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St Petersburg, as Peter I himself ordered it to be made “resembling the one in Narva”, although the gate itself was throned by St Peter, another of Peter I spiritual patrons. Trezzini, as is now clear, took over almost all the sculptural décor from Narva, expanding on it. The symbolic meanings of the statuary, here only covered at the most basic level, are ripe for further discussion.
Of the three medieval Livonian cities, Tartu is in the most challengingposition when it comes to both written and visual sources. Repeatedlyconquered and plundered during the wars of the 16th–20th centuries,Tartu lost its medieval archives and buildings. To date, research onmedieval Tartu’s art has largely concentrated on the architecture ofits cathedral and the parish church of St. John.This article aims to explore potential avenues for studying medievalart in Tartu by utilizing written sources, historical drawings, andsurviving works of art. Many of the stone carvings discussed arepublished here for the first time. However, the article does not intendto present a comprehensive overview of all preserved medievalart from Tartu – a task made impossible by the sheer number offragmented grave slabs alone.The first section of the article examines written records relatedto the commissioning and donation of artworks. It then reviews thepreserved carved stones and fragments from churches, including apiscina, a sacrament niche, and several grave slabs. Carved stonesfrom burgher residences are even fewer, comprising an inscribedcapital, three doorside stones (Beischlagsteine), and a lintel. Analysisof the limestone materials shows that most of the carved stonesfrom Tartu’s churches and dwellings were made from Lasnamäelimestone. However, it remains unclear whether only rough blockswere transported to Tartu or whether the artistic designs themselveswere commissioned from Tallinn masters. Finally, the article discussestwo notable artworks – a silver-gilt chalice and a bronze church bell– both of which were likely taken to Russia following the conquestof Tartu in 1558 during the Livonian War.The findings highlight that, while medieval sources for studyingTartu’s art are limited, they are more abundant than previouslyassumed. Continued investigation of written records and historicaldrawings holds great promise. In addition, many fragmented graveslabs require documentation and cataloging in museum collections,and further research into their materials is essential.
The central issue of this study is establishing the corpus of lateGothic bookbindings produced in Tallinn by a few consecutive andinterrelated binders in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.The survey of decorative tools and bookbinding designs allows theattribution of twenty-eight currently known surviving bindings tothese binders. The designs of the tools used in Tallinn’s workshopreveal the northern German, primarily Lübeck area, connectionsof the earlier generation of late Gothic binders in Tallinn. In thesecond phase, more diversified tooling appears that could hint at theimport of tools from different areas or production of the tools locally,imitating the stamps on imported bindings of various origins. Thestyle and techniques of both stages remain conservative, preservingthe medieval symbolic and decorative imagery. Since most of thesurviving bindings have been preserved in Tallinn, and manyoriginate from the Dominican friary, it is reasonable to conclude thatthe bindery was also closely connected to the friary. The Dominicanmanuscript waste reused in the bindings adds corroboration to thisassumption.
The painter Michel Sittow worked for at least three courts: Castile,Denmark, and the Habsburg’s Low Countries. His presence and, tosome extent, his status and activities are documented in scatteredindications in financial sources and inventories. Examining thoseprimary sources, this article pursues two lines of inquiry. Firstly, wetrace Sittow’s trajectory and the connection of his artworks to thesethree periods of his life. Secondly, we deploy the painter’s case toponder material and immaterial courtly boundaries that would haveconstituted different degrees and forms of privacy at court. Finally,this dual examination shows that he may indeed have posed a threatto the privacy of some of his royal employers.
Sixteenth and seventeenth century publications afford a great overview of contemporary park designs. Thanks to the surviving books we are able to study the park design of the end of the Renaissance, the Mannerist period and the beginning of the Baroque. That entire garden design period is characterised by the use of parterres. While plant ornamentation is heavily used throughout the period, we do not find as much animal ornamentation in the designs. Dolphins, as important symbols of love and friendship, were beloved figures in park design. In addition to parterre designs, Dolphins can be found in water feature ensembles, fountain groups and grotto niches.
In the 19th century, the return of the German-language university played a crucial role in the education, science, and cultural history of the Russian Empire’s Baltic provinces. The newly established German-language university enjoyed significant autonomy, attracting professors primarily from Germany. Following the German university model, students began forming corporate associations in the early decades of the 19th century. Despite being officially prohibited at the start of the century, the legalisation of student organisations in Tartu in 1855 led to their flourishing over the next few decades. Nineteenth-century societal developments in Europe brought significant changes in communication. Print graphics primarily drove visual aspects during the first half of the century. Technological advancements allowed for more extensive and affordable print runs, facilitating wider distribution of images and enabling authors as well as publishers to respond swiftly to public needs and expectations. These images depicted local life and prominent buildings, contributing to developing national identities in 19th-century Europe by fostering patriotic sentiments and regional self-awareness. Tartu emerged as a local centre for print graphics in the second quarter of the 19th century. Initially, engravers and artists focused on portraying new university buildings, but from the 1850s onwards, they also began depicting colourful student traditions. Given that Baltic-German fraternities played a significant role in Tartu student life, the customs and lifestyle of Tartu students were portrayed. These printed images of student life in Tartu were created for broader audiences in elegant albums, or for circulation within the narrower circle of fraternity members and alumni. An exciting and little-known example of this is Ludwig Ulmann’s picture series from 1873, created for the 50th anniversary of the Tartu Baltic-German student fraternity Fraternitas Rigensis. The series provides a rare glimpse into the self-reflection of 19th-century Tartu fraternities. Although Ulmann, an amateur artist, approached the theme with satirical and comical ease, a closer analysis reveals the rich traditions within the Baltic-German fraternities. Most selected scenes are based on historical student practices, local personalities, or events. However, Ulmann also drew inspiration from the famous programmatic Wilhelm von Kaulbach mural in Berlin’s Neues Museum, cleverly incorporating elements from classical art into his work. In the local visual culture of the 19th Century, Tartu University quickly found its place as a distinct theme. The dissemination of these images among educated German minorities in all three Baltic provinces reinforced Tartu University's image as a unifying force in Baltic-German society. The Imperial University of Tartu served as a natural and efficient platform for the local German-educated intelligentsia, and its students and alumni quickly developed a shared mentality. More specifically, the Baltic-German student fraternities operating at Tartu University actively supported local German cultural and intellectual self-awareness, particularly the more conservative and preservative wing. In this way, the printed graphics depicting student life in Tartu are now primarily significant and poignant testimonies of the former glory days of the Baltic-German fraternities.
