Sent by Ruslania.com promptly from Helsinki, Finland.Description:Kaesolevas, jarjekorras juba viiendas Eesti Kunstimuuseumi arhiivis sailitatavaid materjale tutvustavas valjaandes jouab lugeja ette uurimus kunstnikest odede Kristine, Lydia ja Natalie Mei elust ning loomingust. Uurimus sai touke 2016. aastal, kui muuseumi arhiivi joudsid Lydia ja Natalie Mei elu kasitlevad arhiivimaterjalid ja fotod ning algas nende korrastamine. Sugulaste lahke abiga on uurijatel olnud voimalus tutvuda ka kolmanda oe Kristine parijate kaes olevate materjalidega.

Raamatu autor Kai Stahl on peamiselt naiskunstnike loomingu uurimisele keskendunud Eesti juurtega Soome kunstiajaloolane. Kai Stahl lopetas Turu Ülikooli 2005. aastal kunstiteadlasena. Praegu on ta Turu Ülikooli ajaloo-, kultuuri- ja kunstikolledzhi doktorant. Doktoritoos uurib ta eesti kunstniku Natalie Mei 1910. kuni 1930. aastate loomingut naise agentsuse ja moderniseerumise vaatenurgast. Stahl on alates 2007. aastast avaldanud rohkesti kirjutisi naiskunstnikest, nende haridusteest ja modernistlikust kujutavast kunstist.

Oed Meid astusid Eesti kunstiellu 1910. aastate teisel poolel. Esmakordselt naitusel osalesid nad - ainsate naistena ja koik koos - kunstiühingu Pallas kevadnaitusel 1919. aastal. Odedest vanim, Kristine Mei (1895-1969), oppis skulptoriks Soome kunstiühingu joonistuskoolis Helsingis, kuid nime tegi ta endale pigem kirjakunstniku ja (sarnaselt noorima oega) raamatukujundajana. Kristine skulptuuriloomingust on meie ajani sailinud vaid moned naited. Aasta noorem Lydia (1896-1965) oppis Peterburis arhitektuuri, kuid leidis eneseteostuse hoopis akvarellis ja sai selle ala hinnatud meistriks. Odedest noorim, Pallase kunstikooli esimese lennu lopetanud Natalie Mei (1900-1975), kujundas aastakümneid nii Estonia kui ka teiste Eesti teatrite lavastuste kostüüme ja dekoratsioone ning oli Eesti NSV Riikliku Kunstiinstituudi tekstiili- ja kostüümikateedri pikaaegne professor ja juhataja. Sugugi vahem oluline ei ole tema vabalooming, milles naeb Eesti kujutavas kunstis naislooja kohta erandlikku sotsiaal- ja ühiskonnakriitilist hoiakut ning uusi naisekujutamisviise. Mitmekülgsete modernistlike loojatena valisid oed enesevaljendusvahendiks marginaalsemad ja vahem hinnatud tehnikad, kajastades oma aega vahetult, otsekoheselt ja nii monigi kord huumorisademega silmis.

Samas sarjas varem ilmunud:

* Ulrika Joemagi, Anne Untera. Kunstile ohverdatud elu. Salome Trei (1905-1995). Elulooline arhiiviaines ja hilislooming. Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2015
* Ulrika Joemagi, Juta Kivimae. Kadunud Eesti skulptorid. Linda Sober (1911-2004) ja Endel Kübarsepp (1912-1972). Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2018
* Ulrika Joemagi, Anne Untera. Tuntud, kuid siiski tundmatu Agathe Veeber (1901-1988). Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2018
* Anu Allikvee. Missiooniga kollektsionaar. Alfred Roude (1896-1968). Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2019

This publication is the fifth in a row to introduce materials kept in the archives of the Art Museum of Estonia. It discusses the the lives and works of Kristine, Lydia and Natalie Mei, three sisters who were all artists. The research was initiated in 2016 when archival material and photos dealing with the lives of Lydia and Natalie Mei arrived in the museum's archives, and all the material started to be organised. With the kind help of their relatives, the researchers have also been able to familiarise themselves with materials related to Kristine, the third sister, which is in the possession of her heirs.

Kai Stahl, the author of this book, is a Finnish art historian with Estonian roots. Her research has mainly been devoted to the oeuvre of women artists. Kai Stahl graduated from the University of Turku in 2005 as an art historian. She is a PhD student in the School of History, Culture and Arts Studies at the University of Turku. Her PhD thesis examines the Estonian artist Natalie Mei's oeuvre from the perspective of female agency and modernisation from the 1910s to the 1930s. Stahl has published many articles related to women artists and their education and modernism in visual art since 2007.

The sisters, who were born in Liepaja, Latvia, entered the Estonian art scene in the second half of the 1910s. The first exhibition all three participated in - as the only women - was the spring exhibition of the Pallas Art Society in 1919. Kristine Mei (1895-1969), the oldest of the sisters, studied to be a sculptor at the Drawing School of the Finnish Art Society in Helsinki. However, she made a name for herself as a calligrapher and (similarly to her younger sister) as a book designer. Only a few examples of Kristine's sculptural work have survived. Lydia (1896-1965), who was a year younger, studied architecture in St Petersburg, although she later became a watercolourist and an acknowledged master of this art. Natalie Mei (1900-1975), the youngest of the sisters, was in the first class to graduate from the Pallas Art School. She later designed costumes and decorations for productions in the Estonia Theatre, as well as many other Estonian theatres, served for a long time as a professor in the Textile and Costume Department of the State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR, and was also its director. However, her work in the fine arts was no less important. She demonstrated a remarkable socially and societally critical attitude for a woman artist, and also developed new ways of portraying women. As multifaceted modernist artists, the sisters chose more marginal and less respected techniques as means for their self-expression and depicted their era directly, openly and often with humour.

Published before

* Ulrika Joemagi, Anne Untera. Kunstile ohverdatud elu. Salome Trei (1905-1995). Elulooline arhiiviaines ja hilislooming. Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2015
* Ulrika Joemagi, Juta Kivimae. Kadunud Eesti skulptorid. Linda Sober (1911-2004) ja Endel Kübarsepp (1912-1972) = Lost Estonian Sculptors. Linda Sober (1911-2004) and Endel Kübarsepp (1912-1972). Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2018
* Ulrika Joemagi, Anne Untera. Tuntud, kuid siiski tundmatu Agathe Veeber (1901-1988) = Well-known, but Still Unknown Estonian Printmaker Agathe Veeber (1901-1988). Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2018
* Anu Allikvee. Missiooniga kollektsionaar. Alfred Roude (1896-1968) = Collector with a Mission: Alfred Roude (1896-1968). Tallinn: Eesti Kunstimuuseum, 2019