War and Colour Pencil – Agu Peerna’s Drawings of Tartu’s Devastation in the 1940s
By the autumn of 1941, Tartu had emerged from the shelling and destruction that it had experienced a few months earlier. In the summer of 1941, the first Soviet occupation was replaced by a German occupation. In the whirlwind of war events – amid the advance of German troops and the retreat of Soviet forces – Tartu became a frontline city for a few weeks in the second half of July 1941, which, accompanied by a barrage of shells from the warring parties, caused massive destruction in the heart of the city and other parts of the city. More than 600 dwellings were destroyed.
In the early days of the German occupation, in the winter of 1941/42, the artist Agu Peerna (1906-1950) walked around Tartu, using colour pencils to document the war’s aftermath: the destroyed buildings, the buildings that no longer exist in today’s cityscape, and everyday life in the city.
Agu (born August) came from a family of five children; he was the youngest and the only boy. In summers, his father was a fisherman on the Emajõgi River, a casual worker in the city or farmsteads in winters, and his mother was a housewife. Agu started his education in Tartu primary schools, later going to Tartu Teachers’ Seminary, where he obtained a primary school teacher’s certificate in 1927. According to Agu, he became interested in art in primary school. Still, during his time at the seminary, he could concentrate more seriously on his hobby, for example, by taking evening croquet classes at the Tartu Higher Art School Pallas. In 1928, he became a fully-fledged student at Pallas under the tutelage of the modernist artist Jaan Vahtra. In the same year, Agu got married. For economic reasons, however, the newcomer to Pallas soon had to interrupt his art studies to take up a teaching post in the countryside. He returned to Tartu in 1930, and in addition to his teaching job, he continued his studies in the Pallas evening nude class under Voldemar Mellik and Peet Aren. During the German occupation in 1942-1944, A. Peerna attended the Higher Courses of Fine Arts – Aleksander Vardi’s painting class and Ado Vabbe’s graphic art class. From 1945, at the beginning of the second Soviet occupation, Agu was active at the Tartu State Art Institute, where he continued to work under the guidance of A. Vabbe at the Tartu State Art Institute. Agu Peerna graduated from the institute in 1948 while teaching (1947-1949). In 1949, A. Peerna joined the Union of Artists.
During his artistic career, Agu Peerna cultivated various graphic techniques. His subjects were varied, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes and other motifs. He created many illustrations (mainly in linocut) for the books of the publishing house Noor-Eesti and several magazines, resulting in cover designs, picture puzzles, pictures for crossword puzzles, etc. Since the 1930s, A. Peerna participated in many exhibitions with other artists.
By the autumn of 1941, Tartu had emerged from the shelling and destruction that it had experienced a few months earlier. In the summer of 1941, the first Soviet occupation was replaced by a German occupation. In the whirlwind of war events – amid the advance of German troops and the retreat of Soviet forces – Tartu became a frontline city for a few weeks in the second half of July 1941, which, accompanied by a barrage of shells from the warring parties, caused massive destruction in the heart of the city and other parts of the city. More than 600 dwellings were destroyed.
In the early days of the German occupation, in the winter of 1941/42, the artist Agu Peerna (1906-1950) walked around Tartu, using colour pencils to document the war’s aftermath: the destroyed buildings, the buildings that no longer exist in today’s cityscape, and everyday life in the city.
Agu (born August) came from a family of five children; he was the youngest and the only boy. In summers, his father was a fisherman on the Emajõgi River, a casual worker in the city or farmsteads in winters, and his mother was a housewife. Agu started his education in Tartu primary schools, later going to Tartu Teachers’ Seminary, where he obtained a primary school teacher’s certificate in 1927. According to Agu, he became interested in art in primary school. Still, during his time at the seminary, he could concentrate more seriously on his hobby, for example, by taking evening croquet classes at the Tartu Higher Art School Pallas. In 1928, he became a fully-fledged student at Pallas under the tutelage of the modernist artist Jaan Vahtra. In the same year, Agu got married. For economic reasons, however, the newcomer to Pallas soon had to interrupt his art studies to take up a teaching post in the countryside. He returned to Tartu in 1930, and in addition to his teaching job, he continued his studies in the Pallas evening nude class under Voldemar Mellik and Peet Aren. During the German occupation, in the years 1942–43, A. Peerna attended the Higher Courses of Fine Arts, and in 1943–44, after they were renamed, he studied at the Higher Art School Pallas – in the painting class of Aleksander Vardi and the graphic arts class of Ado Vabbe. From 1945, at the beginning of the second Soviet occupation, Agu was active at the Tartu State Art Institute, where he continued to work under the guidance of A. Vabbe at the Tartu State Art Institute. Agu Peerna graduated from the institute in 1948 while teaching (1947-1949). In 1949, A. Peerna joined the Union of Artists.
During his artistic career, Agu Peerna cultivated various graphic techniques. His subjects were varied, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes and other motifs. He created many illustrations (mainly in linocut) for the books of the publishing house Noor-Eesti and several magazines, resulting in cover designs, picture puzzles, pictures for crossword puzzles, etc. Since the 1930s, A. Peerna participated in many exhibitions with other artists.
In independent Estonia, A. Peerna was also a member of the Defence League. He spent his active service (1927-28) in the training company of the 2nd Division, from which he left as a Corporal. In the spring-winter of 1944, Peerna was mobilised to the 4th Border Guard Regiment, where he performed the duties of the accountant of the 10th Company. He did not participate directly in combat.
The exhibition includes a small selection of the 219 drawings by Agu Peerna in the Tartu City Museum, particularly the Tartu war paintings. The exhibition focuses on A. Peerna as both a war chronicler and an artist with a sensitive hand.