Kuressaare Motif

This painted postcard is one of the smallest known works by Konrad Mägi. A black-and-white reproduction of it was in circulation as a postcard, which contributed to improving the connection between the public and visual arts (cf. Lake Pühajärv Landscape).

Mägi stayed in Kuressaare on three occasions, spending the longest time there in 1920, which apparently is also the year when this postcard was painted. He taught art at a teachers’ refresher course, staying in Pikk Street in Kuressaare for approximately a month. The motif in this picture depicts the old part of the town, and the perspective is somewhat unusual for Mägi: there is pathway turning right in front of the buildings in the foreground, thus leading the viewer’s gaze into the distance. A similar perspective was used by Mägi a few years later in paintings made in Italy, where footpaths led into the heart of the picture.  

Mägi’s treatment of the colour white is fascinating to observe here. White was not Mägi’s favourite colour, he seldom used in such an important role. In this particular case the white walls of houses create an airy summer atmosphere, which Mägi dramatizes by juxtaposing the white with a sombre sky of dark violet and blue clouds. The contrast between the walls and the menacing sky creates a tension, which is further aggregated by the yellowish green field of grass in the foreground.