Konrad Mägi is considered one of the Baltic’s foremost artists. It is said that he single-handedly brought modernism to Estonia. All Estonians have heard of Mägi, but in the larger European art history he is forgotten. Even in countries such as Norway and Finland, where he lived and worked for a period, very few know him today. I had never heard the name myself. Now this unique artist is being highlighted through an extensive exhibition at Lillehammer Art Museum. UNKNOWN WHERE: Researchers have not been able to fully agree on where Mägi found his Norwegian motifs. Could the lake in “Norsk landscape” (1909) be Mjøsa, Sperillen or Tyrifjorden? Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Art Museum A wonderful artistry In the beautiful Snøhetta Museum, Konrad Mägi’s rich, sensuous, picturesque world unfolds in full width. In the exhibition, we can wander through various phases and motif circles. Although Konrad Mägi was painterly a modernist, it was not modern life that he wanted to depict. He mostly revolved around nature, largely avoiding both people and houses in his pictures. Alongside his landscape depictions, he is also known for his soulful portraits. Mägi drew inspiration from a wide range of European styles and currents, at his best he was able to intertwine all these impulses into an exciting and individualized idiom. This is a really wonderful artistry to get to know. Konrad Mägi Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Kunstmuseum Konrad Mägi (1878 – 1925) grew up in the southern part of Estonia, as the youngest of seven siblings. His father was a property manager and his mother a homemaker. Later, the family moved to the big city of Tartu, which remained Mägi’s home for the rest of his life. Konrad Mägi embodies all artist myths: He had to fight to realize his artistic dream. He lived for periods as an outcast, was low on alcohol and mentally unstable. Despite limited funds, Konrad Mägi already managed to get out into Europe early in his career. He worked in phases both in France, Finland, Norway and Italy. Breakthrough in Norway In terms of quality, there is a relatively large range in artistry, from the completely virtuoso to the more helpless. Interestingly enough, he painted his very best pictures in Norway, despite the fact that during this period he was so poor that he sometimes survived on blueberries in the forest. Here he feeds a tenacious myth that resistance and misery nurture artistic creativity. “Portrait of a Norwegian girl” (1909). Swipe -> for more photos. Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Art Museum “Landscape in Pühajärve” (1920) Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Art Museum “Meditation” (1915–1916) Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Art Museum “Venice (Canal in Venice)” (1922–1923) Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Art Museum “Norwegian landscape with church” (1909) “Rumersk jente” (1915) He came to Norway around 1908. It is a little unclear where in the country he stayed, but that for a time he walked around and starving Kristiania is certainly enough. There is also no doubt that this wonderful city left its mark on him and his art to the highest degree: it was here that he had his artistic breakthrough. In artist circles, he met the great painter leader Christian Krohg, who was excited by Mägi’s innovative pictorial expression, and who organized his first proper exhibition in 1910. “Dot prints” and Munch lines In the exhibition at Lillehammer, we can study many of the wonderful landscape paintings from Norway. Here he combines the French pointillists’ “dotted expression” with the decorative elegance of Art Nouveau and Munch’s dynamic lines. Although in this sense he drew widely on other artists and “isms”, he developed a very innovative and distinctive idiom. “Norwegian landscape with pine” shows this quivering, intense and highly original imagery. INTENSE: Mägi’s dotting technique in “Norwegian landscape with pine” (1908–1910) creates a quivering intensity in the surface. Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Kunstmuseum Here we see a tall pine in front of a smoldering orange landscape, where deep blue lakes form a beautiful contrast to the glowing autumn landscape. Whirling wicker work Another work shows some slender birch trees by a shallow river bed in a forest. Here he depicts the water’s alternation between light reflection and translucency. In both of these images, we see that the composition is constructed over something that resembles a kind of cellular structure. Each color point is surrounded by another, often complementary denomination, with an elliptical outline in the same color as the core. BEST IN NORWAY: His pictures from Norway are the most exciting. Here “Norwegian landscape” (1908–1910). Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Kunstmuseum This gives the impression that neither the nearby forest floor nor the distant hills are just a beautiful surface. It consists of a bustling network of plants and microorganisms. This idiom gives an intensity and a quivering life to the expression. After having completely lost myself in these complex, shape-conscious and coloristically brilliant images, it is quite difficult to understand why in some of his other paintings he chooses almost banal and obvious colors, and overloaded compositions where the elements of the image beat each other to death. “ON THE ROAD FROM VILJANDI TO TARTU” (1915–1916): In some of the landscapes, all the elements are modeled equally, so that it appears as if the clouds, hills, fields and houses are created from the same material. Photo: Stanislav Stepashko / Lillehammer Art Museum Brought to light But the fact that the quality is variable does not mean that he is not a great artist. Even Edvard Munch has some rather weak images of his conscience. I agree with the Lillehammer Art Museum that this is an artist who deserves a place in European art history, as part of the emerging modernism. It is great and timely that Konrad Magi is now brought to light, because at his best he is simply superb! news reviews Photo: Camilla Damgård What: Exhibition Where: Lillehammer Art Museum Artist: Konrad Mägi Curators: Nils Ohlsen and Pilvi Kalhama Date: 26 November–2. April 2023
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Konrad Mägi at Lillehammer Art Museum – Reviews and recommendations
