Drought

Drought is dated approximately in the 1940’s yet it is difficult to say more precisely when it was painted. This work was nevertheless probably completed after 1940 since several trends characteristic of this work took root during that period throughout Võerahansu’s work: his style became simpler, more connected to life, more straight-laced. His paintings, however, are often based on some specific theme (for instance, peat cutting, blind people, the potato harvest, shepherds, and other such topics). Incidentally, Võerahansu had created another preliminary work entitled Drought (oil, pasteboard) in 1947 with exactly the same dimensions as this work. This is no wonder since “drought” is a theme that is repeatedly found in Võerahansu’s work and he reportedly even planned to create a triptych of the same name, apparently to refer to the dramatic and even tragic struggle of islanders against scanty natural conditions.