Toomas Vint 1944 Landscape. 1999

Toomas Vint developed his style early on and did not make fundamental changes to it even with the advent of new times. His 1990s work, despite chaotic and even difficult times, deals with idyllic motifs, where the idyll is amplified to the extreme, giving rise to metaphysical perceptions; the painting enters a new dimension that can speak both of beauty and fear, of tension and calm.

A significant role is played by the creation of atmosphere through light and shadow; drama is generated unusually not through dynamics, but through the stillness of nature. Despite the constancy of his handwriting and interests, Vint has not fallen into self-repetition, but—as he himself said in a 1985 interview—“Creating a painting is an event, and every painting is an event—otherwise, I wouldn’t do it.” According to Enn Põldroos: “Usually, when an artist follows a narrowly defined line of thought and form throughout their life, their work gradually loses freshness and stagnates. Vint has managed to ignore this natural law.”

Vint has also admitted that “it is more interesting to make a small painting; you don’t get bored or tired, and you see the result faster.”