Nigul Espe 1907–1970 Ruins Of St Mary's Church In Tartu. 1943

There are extremely many paintings or graphic pages depicting a shattered Tartu in Estonian art. The tragedy attracted the attention of artists living in Tartu, although they often do not depict the destruction tragically, but rather try to inject the viewer with faith in the possibility of living on. Espe's painting is dark in color, but the blooming flowers and the sinking of the ruins into nature give the impression that Espe is depicting some ancient ruins, and not recent destruction. The bright open sky above and colorful flowers in the foreground leave no doubt that Espe can see the ruins as romantic rather than traumatic.