Lepo Mikko 1911–1978 Autumn Motif. 1950 - 1951

The beginning of the 1950s was a difficult period for Lepo Mikko, as he too had to bow to pressure and began to paint a number of socialist works. According to art historians, they are impersonal and without passion, made by Mikko out of duty, not desire. Obviously, this Sügismotiiv (Autumn Motif) is an example of the kind of work that Mikko would have really wanted to do – or it is his hiding place from official demands. A riverside landscape in golden autumn colours with a long line of trees is painted thoughtfully and as if to himself. Instead of flamboyance or even experimentation, the artist has looked for something solid and permanent, and has found it in nature, which is characteristic of his generation. The perspective of a road in the distance, amplified by a river flowing in the same direction and a line of trees running parallel between them, speaks of longing and the possibility of moving forward, only the future is uncertain and unknown.
The location of the motif is unknown. Mikko lived and worked in Tallinn, but this area is more reminiscent of Tartu’s Kvissental.