Andrus Johani 1906–1941 A Slum Before Thunderstorm. 1935

Slum motifs had a special meaning in the work of the masterful draftsman Andrus Johan. He often showed their social face, being concerned about the poverty and poor living conditions of the inhabitants there. However, in this work, Johan is more based on formal questions. Houses form rhythms and structures here, and their social background is not open. Also, Johan has moved away from the romanticization of the slum, instead of courtyards we see a certain distancing and the representation of the milieu as a certain ornamentation or pattern.