Tõnis Soop (July 27, 1937 – March 16, 2016) was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

painter and teacher.

Early life and education

Tõnis Soop was born to Tõnis Soop (1889–1953) and Elli Soop (née Laderlich, 1905–1987) at the Kingu farm on the estate of Suure-Kõpu Manor. From 1952 to 1957, he studied at the Tartu School of Fine Arts, graduating as a teacher of drawing and sketching. He then studied drawing and painting at the

Tallinn Pedagogical Institute Tallinn University (TLU; , ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education in the country. Both Q ...

for two years. In 1965, he enrolled in the Estonian National Art Institute and studied painting. He graduated in 1971 as a painter and teacher.

Career

During his studies and afterward, Soop worked as a drawing teacher from 1958 to 1966, as an artist at the Estonian SSR State Philharmonic from 1960 to 1961, at from 1965 to 1987, and at the Kirov Collective Fishing Farm (later Esmar) from 1972 to 1992. Soop organized and taught various art courses, including calligraphy. In 1963, he organized inter-school art classes in

Kohtla-Järve Kohtla-Järve () is a city and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in northeastern Estonia, founded in 1924 and incorporated as a town in 1946. The city is highly industrial, and is both a processor of oil shales and is a large producer of ...

. He also lectured at the

and was an instructor in preparatory courses at the Estonian National Art Institute. He taught courses at the and in Värska,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, and

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

. An important part of his life was the , which he founded in 1977. He was also the first director of this school, and he worked there as an art teacher.

Work

As an artist, Soop mainly created oil and watercolor paintings, but he also produced large-scale works using the sgraffito technique (e.g., ''Kalad'' (Fish) in the lobby of the Esmar building in Viimsi and sgraffito in the building of the former high school in Viimsi), large advertising works, and wooden sculptures (e.g., ''Konn'' (Frog) for the ), and he designed books. Soop designed the coat of arms and flag of

Viimsi Parish Viimsi Parish () is a rural municipality in Northern Estonia, located North-East and neighbouring the capital Tallinn. It occupies an area of with a population of 20 580 (). The municipality contains the Viimsi Peninsula and several islands, in ...

. His style of painting changed over time, varying from cubism (especially in his earlier works) to impressionistic textured painting. His works are characterized by a striking palette of colors and bold brushstrokes.

Exhibitions

Soop exhibited his paintings at personal exhibitions from 1956 onward. Foreign exhibitions of his works were held in Mongolia, Japan, Russia, Norway, and Sweden.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soop, Tonis 1937 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Estonian painters 21st-century Estonian painters 20th-century Estonian educators Estonian Academy of Arts alumni People from Põhja-Sakala Parish