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26.03–14.06.2026
Esko Lepp 120
This exhibition presents aquatint prints by the graphic artist Esko Lepp from a private collection. March 2026 marks the 120th anniversary of the artist’s birth.
Esko Lepp (1906–1977) was an Estonian artist who gained recognition primarily for his wood engravings. He was born in Räpina parish into a blacksmith’s family and grew up in a rural environment. As a result of an accident in his youth, he lost the fingers of his left hand. Despite this, he developed into a versatile and technically accomplished printmaker.
Between 1935 and 1940, Lepp studied graphic art and applied graphics at the State School of Applied Art in Tallinn, mainly under the guidance of Günther Reindorff (1889–1974). He continued his studies in 1940–1941 at the Konrad Mägi State Higher Art School in Tartu. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for the Tartu destruction battalion and, during the war, was evacuated to the Soviet Union, where he worked as a draughtsman in a factory in Chelyabinsk. From 1943 to 1948 he studied graphic art at the Surikov Moscow State Art Institute, where he developed into a professional printmaker.
After completing his studies, Lepp worked as a lecturer at the Tallinn State Art Institute from 1948 to 1951, after which he continued his career as a freelance artist. He worked mainly in fine art printmaking and achieved particular recognition for his wood engravings, but he also practised linocut and intaglio techniques such as aquatint and etching. In addition, he produced applied graphics, book illustrations and ex libris.
In his earlier work, Lepp frequently depicted themes related to war and industry. From the 1950s onwards his work became increasingly poetic and lyrical, with landscape and coastal motifs gaining a central place. He often portrayed views of the North Estonian coast, South Estonia and the villages along Lake Peipus, as well as landscapes of Saaremaa and Karelia.
Lepp mastered a variety of printmaking techniques and sought the most suitable means of expression for each motif. His works are characterised by a clear and forceful line, a sensitive treatment of light and atmosphere, and a distinctive viewpoint. In his later works, an increasingly evocative and lyrical perception of nature becomes apparent.
Esko Lepp was a member of the Estonian Artists’ Union from 1944. His work holds a recognised place in the development of twentieth-century Estonian graphic art.
The aquatint works on display in this exhibition come from the private collection of Sven and Erika Reiss.
The collection began in the autumn of 2019, when Kaja Miller, a teacher at the Viljandi Art School, visited the family and noticed a room furnished in a Soviet-era style. She suggested that a graphic work from the same period would complement the interior well.
Some time later she brought the Reiss family a work that had been standing in her garage, Esko Lepp’s Near Haanja, a striking bird’s-eye landscape view executed in the aquatint technique.
The work made a strong impression on its recipients and became the first piece in the Reiss family’s collection of Esko Lepp’s aquatints. Today the collection comprises 92 aquatint prints and continues to grow.
Esko Lepp 120
This exhibition presents aquatint prints by the graphic artist Esko Lepp from a private collection. March 2026 marks the 120th anniversary of the artist’s birth.
Esko Lepp (1906–1977) was an Estonian artist who gained recognition primarily for his wood engravings. He was born in Räpina parish into a blacksmith’s family and grew up in a rural environment. As a result of an accident in his youth, he lost the fingers of his left hand. Despite this, he developed into a versatile and technically accomplished printmaker.
Between 1935 and 1940, Lepp studied graphic art and applied graphics at the State School of Applied Art in Tallinn, mainly under the guidance of Günther Reindorff (1889–1974). He continued his studies in 1940–1941 at the Konrad Mägi State Higher Art School in Tartu. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for the Tartu destruction battalion and, during the war, was evacuated to the Soviet Union, where he worked as a draughtsman in a factory in Chelyabinsk. From 1943 to 1948 he studied graphic art at the Surikov Moscow State Art Institute, where he developed into a professional printmaker.
After completing his studies, Lepp worked as a lecturer at the Tallinn State Art Institute from 1948 to 1951, after which he continued his career as a freelance artist. He worked mainly in fine art printmaking and achieved particular recognition for his wood engravings, but he also practised linocut and intaglio techniques such as aquatint and etching. In addition, he produced applied graphics, book illustrations and ex libris.
In his earlier work, Lepp frequently depicted themes related to war and industry. From the 1950s onwards his work became increasingly poetic and lyrical, with landscape and coastal motifs gaining a central place. He often portrayed views of the North Estonian coast, South Estonia and the villages along Lake Peipus, as well as landscapes of Saaremaa and Karelia.
Lepp mastered a variety of printmaking techniques and sought the most suitable means of expression for each motif. His works are characterised by a clear and forceful line, a sensitive treatment of light and atmosphere, and a distinctive viewpoint. In his later works, an increasingly evocative and lyrical perception of nature becomes apparent.
Esko Lepp was a member of the Estonian Artists’ Union from 1944. His work holds a recognised place in the development of twentieth-century Estonian graphic art.
The aquatint works on display in this exhibition come from the private collection of Sven and Erika Reiss.
The collection began in the autumn of 2019, when Kaja Miller, a teacher at the Viljandi Art School, visited the family and noticed a room furnished in a Soviet-era style. She suggested that a graphic work from the same period would complement the interior well.
Some time later she brought the Reiss family a work that had been standing in her garage, Esko Lepp’s Near Haanja, a striking bird’s-eye landscape view executed in the aquatint technique.
The work made a strong impression on its recipients and became the first piece in the Reiss family’s collection of Esko Lepp’s aquatints. Today the collection comprises 92 aquatint prints and continues to grow.
