Exhibition Views 2013

September 7, 2013 - March 9, 2014, Kadriorg Art Museum 
The exhibition “When the Artist Met Clio” marks the first time that historical scenes created and collected in Estonia and Latvia in the 19th century have been brought together. The artist and the Muse of History meet and engage in dialogue based on history or mixed with fantasy, which is either grand or intimate, passionate or reflective.
Historical events and places, historical figures and heroes come to life in these scenes. We meet Bishop Albert of Riga and the chronicler Henry of Livonia, Tartu town councillors and Plettenberg, Master of the Livonian Order, Louis XVI, the King of France and Queen Marie Antoinette, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, the military leaders Alexander the Great and Alexander Nevsky, Napoleon and Kutuzov, and many others.
History emerged as a separate discipline in the 19th century, and interpretations of history that linked it to nation and territory exploded on the scene. The artworks on display reflect this in one way or another.
When we look at the exhibited works of art, we have to keep in mind that artists are not historians and that people’s understanding of history in the 19th century was different from today’s. In other words, the pictures on display tell us more about the artists themselves and their views of history than of the depicted events.

Exhibition curators: Anu Allikvee and Tiina-Mall Kreem
Exhibition design: Angelika Schneider

February 2 - August 18, 2013, Kadriorg Art Museum 
Ilya Repin (1844–1930) is one of the Russian artists whose work is renowned around the world. He is known primarily as a great realist, and his works, which often contain a socially critical subtext, provide a reflection of the daily lives of simple people and peasants.
The artist settled in Kuokkala, Karelia (today Repino, in the Russian Federation) in the early 20th century. Together with his consort Natalia Nordmann (1863–1914), who was active in photography and literature, he established his home there, which soon became an active centre of cultural life. After Finland became independent, Repin became increasingly involved with the Finnish art scene and art community. In the 1920s, the artist, who was quite elderly, appeared at exhibitions in Russia and Finland. Despite many invitations from the Soviet Union, Repin did not leave Finland, remaining there until his death in 1930.

The exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Finnish National Gallery – Ateneum Art Museum