Olev Subbi (1930‒2013)
Olev Subbi was one of the most important painters in Estonian art in the second half of the 20th century. He started making art in the 1960s and quickly developed his own style and a characteristic choice of topics. Besides landscapes, nudes, portraits and group portraits, his later oeuvre also included (semi-)abstract works of art. Many of the paintings are nostalgic and refer to Subbi’s childhood summers in the 1930s. They are characterised by yearning for harmony and order and a desire to continue in the art canon prevalent before World War II. Subbi focused on studying different ways to make use of colour, brushwork and composition. His oeuvre became extremely popular in the late 1960s and throughout the following two decades he held an important position in the local art life. In his later career, Subbi started to make more abstract paintings and displayed his art abroad on several occasions.
Starting in the 1990s, he was a close friend of Enn Kunila's and his mentor in regards to compiling the latter’s art collection. Over the years, many works by Subbi from all of his creative periods have found a place in Kunila’s collection, thus making it one of the largest collections of Subbi’s paintings after that of the Art Museum of Estonia.
Olev Subbi
Nude on White Cloth
1967
tempera, oil, canvas
120 × 100 cm
Olev Subbi
Red Sofa
1973
tempera, oil, masonite
30 × 39 cm
Olev Subbi
Open Window
1974
tempera, oil, masonite
122 × 108 cm
Olev Subbi
Landscape Near Elva
1975
tempera, oil, canvas
55 × 70 cm
Olev Subbi
The Art Council of the National Park
1979
tempera, oil, masonite
160 × 210 cm
Olev Subbi
Girl on a Staircase
1980
tempera, oil, masonite
160 × 210 cm
Olev Subbi
Two Girls and an Early Summer Town
1980
tempera, oil, masonite
125 × 170 cm
Olev Subbi
Six O’clock in the Afternoon
1981
tempera, oil, masonite
120 × 95 cm
Olev Subbi
Flowers and White Cloth
1982
tempera, oil, masonite
79.5 × 56.7 cm
Olev Subbi
Mare and Andres
1983
tempera, oil, masonite
90 × 80.5 cm
Olev Subbi
Mill Pond
1985
tempera, oil, masonite
75 × 100 cm
Olev Subbi
February
1985
tempera, oil, masonite
100 × 130 cm
Olev Subbi
Inner Courtyard
1986
tempera, oil, masonite
85 × 115 cm
Olev Subbi
Beautiful Evening
1987
tempera, oil, masonite
160 × 210 cm
Olev Subbi
About 50 m Above Sea Level
1992
acrylic, oil, masonite
100 × 140 cm
Olev Subbi
Long Bright Day
1992
acrylic, oil, masonite
90 × 120 cm
Olev Subbi
Piazza del Pozzo
1993
acrylic, oil, masonite
90 × 120 cm
Olev Subbi
Random Light
1995
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
Windless Landscape
1997
acrylic, oil, masonite
51 × 37 cm
Olev Subbi
Window
1997
acrylic, oil, masonite
80 × 60 cm
Olev Subbi
Northern Summer
1997
acrylic, oil, masonite
90 × 120 cm
Olev Subbi
Flight over the Desert
1998
acrylic, oil masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
Sunday
2001
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
Self-portrait
2001
acrylic, oil, masonite
120 × 90 cm
Olev Subbi
Portrait of Enn Kunila
2003
acrylic, oil, masonite
100 × 75 cm
Olev Subbi
The Sixth Foreign Town
2005
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
Clos de Vougeot ‘99
2005
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
Those Faraway Summers
2006
acrylic, oil, masonite
75 × 100 cm
Olev Subbi
Hella, Johannes and Eduard
2007
acrylic, oil, masonite
100 × 129 cm
Olev Subbi
The Eighth Foreign Town
2007
acrylic, oil, masonite
90 × 120 cm
Olev Subbi
Self-portrait
2007
acrylic, oil, masonite
54 × 43 cm
Olev Subbi
December Flowers
2007
acrylic, oil, masonite
80 × 60 cm
Olev Subbi
Vernal Equinox
2009
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
March Flowers
2010
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
August the Eleventh
2012
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm
Olev Subbi
Afternoon
2012
acrylic, oil, masonite
51.3 × 36.7 cm
Olev Subbi
Five Birches
2013
acrylic, oil, masonite
60 × 80 cm