Upcoming

August 5 this year was the 90th birth anniversary for the Estonian writer Nikolai Baturin (1936–2019). At the centre of his magic realist oeuvre are diverse manifestations of "the great wide open": the taiga and the oceans, deserts and rain forests, the human spirit itself in the quest for the unattainable even in a small fishing village, dystopian future city or right here in Viljandi. The legacy of Baturin is an inexhaustibly great wide open itself, his creativity ever surprising in its multiple manifestations.

Even as literary genres merge in his works, there are also constant reminders of his avid interest in the compositional techniques of film and music. This exhibition, however, is the first to highlight and display Baturin's illustrations to his own books.

Nikolai Baturin had a lifelong passion for visual art. Books on paintings and artists found their way to his home in abundance from the Viljandi antique bookshop as well as his far and wide hunting trips. On those journeys as well as from his creative residency by the Lake Võrtsjärv, the letters sent by him almost always contained tiny drawings on the margins, much relished by his children.

Baturin started illustrated his own books with Forests Spreading Far and Wide (1981). The acclaim for the design inspired and encouraged him for more to come. The primary guidance regarding ink pens, paper types and techniques was given by Maret Kernumees (1934–1997), a well-known designer, watercolour artist and family friend.

Initially, Baturin intended to have his bulkier novels, The Heart of the Bear (1989) and Timid Nikas, The Comber of Lions’ Manes (1993) illustrated by Peeter Ulas or another artist who in his eyes had the power to capture that magical "something". However, in the course of writing, the pictorial vision also intensified to the point of not just enhancing and empowering the existing narrative but also continuing it, so that it could come into being only as another layer of the author's own creation.

Already some of the illustrations for Forests Spreading Far and Wide, infused with the symbolism of the Northern indigenous peoples, were technically rich in detail; with “The Heart of the Bear”, the cascade of symbolism and nuance rose to an entirely new level.

The autobiographical Timid Nikas, The Comber of Lions’ Manes went even further and due to the technical limitations of the time, those mystical images did not quite meet Baturin's expectations in print. Largely because of that, none of his latter works feature his illustrations. Hopefully though, the current exhibition will be a step closer to reprinting his major works in a manner worthy of the author and the content.

Text by Berk Vaher

Exhibition curated by Mare Hunt and Mari Vallikivi

Special thanks to Nikolai Baturin's son, Igor.

Technical support: Meelis Tammemägi, Aivar Glotov, Argo Kask, Tiit Rammul, Jüri Märka

The works, objects and books have been loaned by the Estonian Literary Museum, Tarvastu Museum, Viljandi City Library, the Baturin family archive, Andres Ansper and Priit Vahtramäe.

Thanks to Marat Viires, Marge Liivakivi-Minina and Tõnis Korts for their help.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.