Portrait of Enn Kunila

As a rule, Olev Subbi turned to his friends and asked them to sit for him. This is also how Enn Kunila’s portrait came into being, with Kunila posing for the artist a few times. “Why do we need portraits at all?” Subbi asked. “I think they show how well the artist knows people in general and the people in his life in particular. Every person portrayed, however, has their own will and leads the painting in the direction they want it to take.” Just like the artist in his self-portraits, the depictions of his friends are not dramatic but neutral and composed, their poses are reserved, their clothes formal rather than casual, and expressive gestures have been forsaken for calm looks.