Eduard Poland 1883–1957 Forest Lake. 1930

Eduard Poland was a theatre artist by vocation, and this is also reflected in his paintings. Already as a schoolboy, he began working in theatres and designed, among other things, the decorations for the opening of the Vanemuine Theatre. After spending several years working and studying in Germany, he returned to Estonia, where he worked in various theatres, designed postage stamps and banknotes, and volunteered in the Estonian War of Independence—and so on.

Poland’s work as a painter is less well known, yet it too reflects a longing for theatre. On his canvases, he constructs what appear to be dramatic stage sets, opening views into spatial depth and offering the viewer an epic and emotional spectacle. He did not approach nature with modest, laconic intentions; rather, he often built his paintings from trees and landscape forms as if they were theatrical decorations.

The present landscape is dramatic. The idyllic motif is intensified by strong and powerful colors, but tension also arises from the composition: solitary trees set against the sky appear as symbols of vitality. Poland did not passively observe the course of nature and the changing of the seasons; instead, he actively arranged natural elements on the surface of the painting into a composition and emotional scheme that suited his vision.