The fourth volume of the “History of Estonian Art” offers an overview of the architecture and art of the middle and second half of the 19th century. It was a time of rapid and revolutionary changes, when the modernization of society was accompanied by a cultural upheaval. In the last decades of the century, during the period of Russification, different cultural spaces could already be observed on the territory of Estonia: Baltic German, Estonian and Russian. The interests of different social groups were also expressed in architecture and visual arts. Cultural and stylistic pluralism, political and cultural confrontations and interweaving, conservatism and innovation, nostalgia for the past and illusions of the future became the keywords of the era. A German-speaking and pro-German cultural life of a regional character remained dominant, into which the few representatives of the indigenous people who had managed to get an education merged. A constantly active artist community was formed in the homeland, the artist changed from a craftsman to a creative personality, and art education was freed from the control of the tsunft. But in Estonia, the artist’s social position was still very uncertain, and better working conditions were sought elsewhere, primarily in St. Petersburg and Germany, while they were also mobile within the Baltic states. So many artists from here, whether Baltic German or Estonian, managed to succeed in the international art world. Over time, such new institutions of artistic life as art exhibitions, art journalism and art history became at home in Estonia, and art began to demand a more important place in the spiritual life of society.
Compiler and editor: Juta Keevallik
Authors: Tiina Abel, Jüri Hain, Karin Hallas-Murula, Lilian Hansar, Ants Hein, Juta Keevallik, Kaalu Kirme, Tiina-Mall Kreem, Mai Levin, Tõnis Liibek, Aleksander Pantelejev, Reet Piiri, Juta Saron, Mart Siilivask, Egle Tamm
Managing editor: Eneken Helme
Language editors: Ene Hanson, Eha Karlep
Designer: Andres Tali
Editor-in-chief of “History of Estonian Art”: Krista Kodres
Publishers: Estonian Academy of Arts, SA Kultuurileht
480 pages, in Estonian
ISBN 978-9949-725-35-9