Nikolai Voldemar Triik (7 August 1884,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

– 12 August 1940, Tallinn) was an Estonian

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

painter, graphic artist, printmaker and professor. His work displays elements of

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

and

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Biography

He came from a middle-class family. After graduating from the public schools in 1901, he enrolled at the

Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy The Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (Санкт-Петербургская художественно-промышленная академия имени А. Л. Штиглица; abbreviated as СПГХПА) is the ...

, but was expelled for participating in a student strike during the 1905 Revolution. He returned home and continued his studies at the private art school operated by

Ants Laikmaa Ants Laikmaa (5 May 1866 – 19 November 1942) was an Estonian painter.lla Rosenfeld, Norton T. Dodge, Jane Voorhees, ''Art of the Baltics: The Struggle for Freedom of Artistic Expression Under the Soviets, 1945-1991'', Rutgers University Press, ...

, but later went back to Saint Petersburg to take lessons from

Osip Braz Osip Emmanuilovich Braz (russian: Осип Эммануилович Браз; 16 January 1873 in Odessa – 6 November 1936 near Paris) was a Russian-Jewish realist painter. Biography He began his art education in Odessa, now Ukraine, and conti ...

. The following year, he accompanied

Konrad Mägi Konrad Vilhelm Mägi (1 November 1878 – 15 August 1925) was an Estonian painter, primarily known for his landscape work. He was one of the most colour-sensitive Estonian painters of the first decades of the 20th century, and Mägi's works on ...

and Aleksander Tassa on a trip to

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

and spent some time in Helsinki at the school operated by the "Finnish Art Association". Not long after, he married the daughter of a wealthy factory owner and moved to Paris, where he sampled courses at the Académie Colarossi, the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

and the

École des Beaux-arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

. When his studies there were completed, he visited Norway, then went to Saint Petersburg again and audited classes at the art academy operated by

Nicholas Roerich Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (russian: link=no, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophi ...

. For the next two years, he moved between Saint Petersburg and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

. In 1911, he began producing an art section for a magazine published by the literary association, Noor-Eesti, and created a series of works based on Estonian folklore. Following more travels to Copenhagen and Berlin, he settled in Estonia permanently in 1913, working as an art teacher. In 1916, he became a member of the governing council of the "Eesti Kunstiselts" (art association) and, from 1919 to 1920, was in charge of Fine Arts at the Estonian Ministry of Education. That year, he joined a progressive art association named "Pallas" and went to Tartu to teach at their school. From 1922 to 1926, he gave private lessons at his own studio in Tartu, then worked as a freelance artist until 1928. Five years later, he became the first Estonian to be named a Professor of Art. His second wife, Viktoria (the daughter of

Mihkel Martna Mihkel Martna (17 September 1860 Veltsa parish, Paimpere – 23 May 1934 Tallinn) was an Estonian politician and journalist. Martna was born in Kreis Wiek in the Governorate of Estonia (in present-day Pärnu County) and studied in a local villag ...

), died in 1935, aged only forty-four. He fell ill early in 1940 and returned to Tallinn, where he died shortly after.

Selected works

File:NIKOLAI TRIIK 1905-1909 Väikelinna vaade.jpg, ''View of a Small Town'' (1905–1909) File:Triik-Konrad Mägi.jpg, ''Portrait of

'' (1908) File:TKM 3094B, Jaht, Nikolai Triik.jpg, ''Hunt'' (1913) File:NIKOLAI TRIIK 1914 Soome maastik.jpg, ''Finnish Landscape'' (1914) File:NIKOLAI TRIIK Võitlus hydraga.jpg, ''Fight with the Hydra'' (undated) File:Nikolai Triik, Lennuk.jpg, '' Lennuk'' (1910) Nikolai Triik. Old Garden TKM 0567M.jpg, ''Old Garden'' (1917) Nikolai Triik TKM 0060A.jpg, ''From the Window (Tallinn)'' (1913) Nikolai Triik TKM 0193B.jpg, ''Portrait of Pr. V. Triik-Martna'' (undated)

References

External links

Nikolai Triik: Estonia's Master Modernist
an interview with Liis Pählapuu, Curator of KUMU @ Tallinn Arts (with enlargements of paintings)
Eesti Modernism
More works by Triik @ the

Tartu Art Museum Tartu Art Museum ( Estonian: ''Tartu Kunstimuuseum'') is a state-owned museum of art located in Tartu, Estonia. It was founded in 1940 on a private initiative by the members of local art school Pallas. This is the largest art museum in Southern ...

More works by Triik
@ the Digitaalkogu of the Art Museum of Estonia.
Exhibition "Nikolai Triik. Classics of the Modernist Era"
@ Culture.ee {{DEFAULTSORT:Triik, Nikolai 1884 births 1940 deaths Artists from Tallinn People from the Governorate of Estonia Expressionist painters Portrait painters Landscape painters 20th-century Estonian painters 20th-century Estonian male artists École des Beaux-Arts alumni Académie Julian alumni Académie Colarossi alumni

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links