Eduard Wiiralt Art Book
Eduard Wiiralt by Mai Levin, a 248-page hardcover art book with 195 images, about 9.75 x 12 inches / ISBN 9789949485475 / bilingual English and Estonian
I have featured Wiiralt a couple times over the years, and I’m happy to have a few of these available
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Every country has its own artistic geniuses and legends. For Estonians, the name Eduard Wiiralt (1898–1954) is synonymous with creative genius and superb virtuosity in drawing and engraving. The Art Museum of Estonia has an unparalleled collection of Wiiralt’s work, which cannot be kept permanently on view, so this album may be seen as a kind of compensation. Eduard Wiiralt, who was Estonia’s foremost graphic artist for at least half a century, deserves to be better known and his works should be seen by more people.
This album is made special by the fact that, for the first time, the entire rich body of work by Eduard Wiiralt has been reproduced using four-colour printing. This was made possible by the digitalisation of Wiiralt’s artistic legacy in the Art Museum of Estonia collection, which was completed between 2012 and 2015 and supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture. The book includes an introductory article by Mai Levin and reproductions of 195 works; in the case of several works, the preparations for the prints – the drawings – are also included. The album also includes a short biography illustrated by archival photographs and a list of Wiiralt’s reproduced works.
