Peasants' coats of arms Jewellery Embroidery Shoes Textile Headgear Mustjala woman's costume Architecture Pitchers First page Exhibitions Permanent exhibition Open

Estonian Folk Art in the 18th century
(Baroque)

Embroidery The development of Estonian folk art has been an original and even contradictory process. From the 13th century it took on an essentially new direction as foreign conquest brought about the influence of West-European professional culture. Since then the traits of style periods become more evident in Estonian folk art. We can draw parallels between local ecclesiastic and secular art and the development of folk art.

In Europe, the Baroque emerged at the end of the 16th century. The style, characterized by extereme exuberance of colourful decor, sprightliness and sentimentality, flourished in the 17th century. Favoured by the Catholic Church and monarchies, it conquered Europe and spread even further.

The Baroque arrived in Estonia relatively late through Germany, Sweden and Russia. In the 17th century the Swedish royal power paid great attention to its Baltic province, especially to the border-town Narva. The heritage of the Baroque in Estonian art is most remarkable in jewellery, woodcarving and, to some extent, architecture. The Nordic War (1700-1721) exhausted the country and broke off the development of art for a long time. Its revival took place as late as in the 1720s under the Russian Empire.

Baroque ornament was mediated to peasant culture through towns, manors and churches. Manor craftsmen introduced the innovations into textile, goldsmiths into ornaments. Pattern books also helped to spread the latest fashions. Compared with the flaunting and exuberant decor characteristic to the Baroque in Europe, the ornamental solutions in Estonia were much more modest and restrained. The rich naturalistic decor became widespread in North-Estonian embroidery and peasant silver. The angel's head on silver rings is also of Baroque origin. New motives - stylized exotic flowers (tulips, pinks, roses) connected with a winding trail - appeared in embroidery.

Due to the Nordic War, the famine and the plague the general appearance of manor architecture remained plain. Stone manor-houses were an exception. At first sight these long and narrow early manors still resembled peasant farmhouses. The new rise in Estonian manor architecture started in the second half of the 18th century.

The heritage of the Baroque in interior design is also remarkable. For example, such classical pieces of furniture as writing desks, chests of drawers, wardrobes with arched gables and upholstered seats were introduced. Mixed with other styles, popular imitations of Baroque can be found in later peasant furniture, especially bride's chairs.

Ornament

Although the Baroque is considered to be the style of the 17th century, its influence is also remarkable in the 18th century. From the art-historical viewpoint the Rococo is a late phenomenon of the Baroque, replaced by Early Classicism in the last quarter of the 18th century. The conservative character of folk art kept "old-fashioned" styles vital for a long time, and here we can find Baroque traits even in the 19th century. Folk art combines various influences and one can hardly find a "stylish" costume or object. It is a complicated task to get a complete picture of the development of folk art, since most of the material preserved in museums comes from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The exhibition was composed by Kaalu Kirme and Eve Otstavel, design by Riin Somelar.

Peasants' coats of arms Jewellery Embroidery Shoes Textile Headgear Mustjala woman's costume Architecture Pitchers First page Exhibitions Permanent exhibition Open

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April 1, 1997 Webivanad@erm.ee