life ART life HERMANN TALVIK
Liina Talvik
HermannTalvik
life Ar tlife
HermannTalvik
LiinaTalvik
©Liina Talvik 2024
Coverpainting: HermannTalvik, self-portrait, acryliconcanvas, 50 x40cm, 1973
Original title: HermannTalvik–livet Konstenlivet
TranslationfromSwedish:JaneDavis
Publisher: BoD· BooksonDemand, Stockholm, Sweden
Printer: LibriPlureos GmbH,Hamburg,Germany
ISBN:978-91-8097-691-6
Iwanttopaint!
That waslastthing my father ever said to me. Thewords forced theirway up from hischest like apain, like acry.Helay on hisbackina smallroomatthe Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm.
So many experiencesunexpressed.
So many acts incomplete. A flameextinguished.
It wasthe 11th of January1984.
HermannTalvik
Foreword
My father wasanartist. Iamneither an arthistorian noranart scholar. This bookdepicts thedaysthat, followingone from theother,formedanartist’slife. Artwas theabsolutecentreof my father’s life.Itwas enfolded by hisspiritual life andhis earthlypresence. Throughhis artistic ability, he wasabletounite thesetwo lives. Or,asheexpressed it himselfwhenEndel Köks visitedhim on his fiftieth birthday,“An artist is forced to live theirlifetwice at thesametime. They can’tescapetheir everyday life buttheymustsimultaneouslyliveinthe spirit. They arelikea stickburning from both ends.”
It hasbeenimportant formenot to attributetomyfatherany feeling, opinion orexperiencethathedid notexpress himself. Thebookisbased entirely on the abundantsupplyofletters andcertificates, conversationswithmymotherand mypersonalclose relationship with my father.I have takenthe datesofbirth and deathofthose involved from Wikipedia, together with theinformation abouthow many wild animalswerekilledduringthe inauguration of theColosseum.Unless otherwisestatedinthe caption, artworks andphotographs areprivate.
HermannTalvik
1906–1944
Hismothercalledhim ‘the whirlwind’.Hewas born on 31 May1906, andwas an extremelyintense child. He wasbaptisedGermanAlexander Truu,and grew up with an olderbrother andayounger sister.His father,Aleksei,camefrom theEstonianislandofSaaremaa, andhis mother,Leeno,fromthe nearby island of Hiiumaa. My father wasborninTallinn,and hischildhood home wasinthe outskirtsofthe city.
Thefamilywereveryreligious, andthe atmosphere of thehomewas oneof greatlove. They gave each othertheir time,because therewas very little money to give. Thebirth of my father’s youngersisterawoke alifelonglove– aconcern foreachother that waslater to have avital significance.
Theonlytoy my father ever mentionedwas astone in thegardenwitha natural depression in thecentre. In that smallbowl, he crushedcharcoalwhich he took from thewoodburner, adding afew dropsofwater. Then he used it to paintwith his fingersonevery availablesurface:woodenplanks, pieces of cardboardand wrapping paper, in silkygreyshadesand powerful coal-black lines.
Twochildhood experienceshad an impact that wouldlastfor therestofhis life. Onewas thetimethathis ownfather, my grandfather, came homewithasketchbookand abox of coloured chalks. Thesewereexpensive materialsthathad not previously been availableinhis impoverished home.Myfatherdescribed it as an almost painfulphysicalexperience. Howthe colours flowed throughhis body like waves, howthere wasa ringinginhis ears.How he couldscarcelybreathe when he channelled hisinternal fireworksthrough hishandintoa visual impression in colour,formand rhythm.Adye bath of colour,a purification.
Theclosest he came to that sensationlater in life waswhenhestood before the organpipes in NotreDameand felt thesound wavespulsate throughhis body during aconcert of Johann SebastianBach’smusic.Itbecameobvious to himat an earlyage that he wouldlivea life in art. Andyet he wouldstill be afflictedby doubts.
Thesecondchildhood experience that impacted hislifewas theOrthodox Church.Hesanginthe boys’choir,and during theservice he actedasanaltar boy– what wasknown as a‘candle boy’.Toabandon himselftothe sacred space, to become onewiththe incenseand to rise in ethereal coils, to feel thesong vibrateinhis cellsand to be dazzledbythe gleamand visual beauty of theiconostasis… In this communityhefound currents granting himentrancetothe spiritualworld that wassomuchthe essenceofhimself –thatwould so much come to characterise hisart.
In theOrthodoxChurch, 1925.
Hisearly school yearswerenot apositive experience.Hewas forced to speak Russianeventhoughhecouldspeaknot awordofthe language when he started school.Estonianwas totallyforbidden. Hishomelifehad alreadytaughthim thevalue of conversation,the interlinkingforce of language.Russian limited him. He remembered therequirements as unfair andfrightening.But whilehe missed spoken language during that period,there were no such limitations on hisvisualexpression. Hisartistic abilitieswerenoticed earlyinhis life. Aged just thirteen,hewas accepted throughspecial dispensation by the StateArt School in Tallinn, wherehe studiedbookbinding andleatherwork. He remained at theschooluntil 1926. During histimethere,hesupported himselfbyworking,including at the Lafermetobacco factory. Tobaccowas –andwould remain –something he strongly disliked.Heneededfresh air andclearhorizons.Neitherwasonofferatthetobaccofactory.Butheneededmoney, forart materialsand food,and forhis greatpassion –collectingRussian icons.
HermannTalvik
It turned outthatsomeof hissalarywas paid in theformofcigarettes, and, furiousabout this,he triedtolearn to smoke. Histhroatswelled,hetoreathis shirtcollar, cursed thefactory andattempted to sell thecigarettes. Buttheywere almost worthless. Down on theshore of TallinnBay,where thefactory lay, he threwthe cigarettes in thewater. They floatedawaylikewhite worms.
Soon,ashis studiesprogressed, he gotajob as abookbinderand couldleave the tobaccofactory.He foundhis studiesinspiring,but he wanted more from life.To seemore, learnmore, to developasan artist.In1922, agraphic artprogramme was introduced at theArt School in Tallinn. He appliedtotransferfrombookbinding to graphicart,but wasrejected. This wasahugedisappointmentfor him. It felt so naturalfor himtoexpress himselfinthe black-and-whitegraphical language he hadmadehis ownfromthose days spentbythe stonebowlinthe garden of his childhoodhome. Despitebeing unable to change programme, he washappy at the ArtSchool, andthe atmosphere wasone of good companionship. So he wasvery disappointed when he felt that oneof theteacherswas trying to sabotage hisgrade.
“Withwhatcolourdoesthe rainbowstart?” askedthe teacher. Well,from whichdirection does therainbow start? Father wasunsure… He begantosweat andstammer …Hewould repeat this sentence throughout hislifeasanexpression of oneperson’sill-willtoanother.Withwhatcolourdoesthe rainbowstart?
In theearly 1920s, Father didhis military service. Estoniahad just suffered several yearsofwar, firstwiththe German occupation andthenthe invasion by Russian troops. TheEstonianWar of Independence wasfoughtfrom1918to1920, and Estonia’sindependencewas acknowledged by Russia on 2February1920. Aged thirteen andfourteenduringthe hostilities, my father didn’t play an active part in thewar,but he wasseverelyaffectedbythe events taking placearoundhim.
Forhim,militaryservice wasanightmare,and he suffered throughevery second.Nothing couldbeworse forhim than to take part in acts of violence. Neitherdefence norattackcould justifythis.
Exactlyhow difficult it wasfor himbecameclear oneday in thearsenal.He foundhimself standing therewithariflein hishand, temptedtouse it on himself. He wasstill clutchingthe weapon when suddenly oneofthe platoonleaders came in andshouted “Whatare youdoing here?” My father leaped severalinchesand
automaticallyanswered“Nothing, Captain”. Thenextday,hewas summoned to thecommander’s office. Theunit’scommandershad recognised thedangerous moment in thearsenal.Myfatherwas askedabout hisartistictraining, then given newduties, drawingmapsand text,and wasreleasedfromany serviceinvolving weapons. He wasendlessly grateful.He haddecided to never, ever take part in a war. Hishands wouldnever be used forviolence.
In areality coloured by threats, violence andinjustice,itwas theOrthodox Church that gave himmentalstrength. He enjoyedbeing the firstpersontoenter thechurch. He walked throughthe spacealone,withataper flickering in hishand, lightingthe oillamps andwax candles. Theroomslowly filled with lightand scent. Outsidethe church,the dawn lightgrewstronger. Nothinggavehim such physical andspiritual forceasthese mornings.Asthe damp coolness creptupthrough the wooden floorofthe church,hestood foralongtime, lost in thoughtashegazed at theiconostasis.He felt such astrongaffinity with theemotional styleofthe oldRussian icons. Andsohebegan collecting them at an earlyage.Littledid he know howtheywould laterbelostand what turnshis life wouldtake.
Although theseprofoundspiritual experiencesgavehim mental strength,they also gave birthto doubt, andhefeltfullofinternalconflict. He wastornbetween thespiritual andartisticworlds. He wasdrawn to monastic life,but it wasnot to be. Aredemptiveconversationwiththe Abbot finallyled himtoa newunderstanding. “YourGod-given task lies in art. Leavethe monasteryand bringyourart to the world!”At first, Father wasdisappointed. He felt as though he hadbeendeemed unworthy to be amonk. Butsoonthe conversation sank in,and he woulddevote therestofhis life to theart whichwas almost entirely inspired by hisspiritual life.
Ican’t help butdrawparallels to Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Andrei Rublev.Ittells thestory of Russia’s best-known icon painter, whowas active in theearly 1400s. At onepoint in the film he is accusedofbeing asinnerbecause he hasstopped painting iconsand is thus wastingaGod-given gift.
Helsinki. In 1928 he continuedhis artstudies at theAcademy of Fine Arts [SuomenTaideyhdistyksenpiirustuskoulu] in Helsinki,where higher leveltrainingwas provided. Thepreviousyear, he hadadopted anew surname, andhebegan hisstudies in Helsinki with hisnew name –Talvik.
Hermann Talvik wasborninEstonia and came to Sweden as arefugee in 1944. Hestudied fine art at the Ateneum inHelsinki andinParis, developing great skill both in painting and in various printmaking techniques. His whole life revolved around art –alifethat he lived in the spirit, distant from the clamourofsociety,and in symbiosis with nature. It has been written about Talvik that he is the landscapepainter’s poet, an artist who, with his spiritualsensitivity, canhearthe heart of a flower beating. His visionaryprints have been described as modern icons. In its combination of highly personal artistic expression andvirtuoso technique, Talvik’s art remainstimeless.
The biography was writtenbyhis daughter LiinaTalvik, who has previouslypublished a number of books forchildren and youngpeople Through theauthor’sintimate relationship with her father,and the large number of lettershe wrote home fromhis travels,the reader gains an insight intoTalvik’s innermostthoughts and reflections on life and art.
This is aunique opportunitytodiscover Hermann Talvik –bothasaman andanartist.
