Vive Tolli
| Vive Tolli | |
|---|---|
| Born | Vive Pajusoo 28 July 1928[1] Tallinn, Estonia[1] |
| 8 April 2020 (aged 91)[1]8 April 2020 (aged 91)[1] | |
| Other names | Viive Tolli |
| 🏫 Education | Estonian State Art Institute (printmaking, grad. 1953)[1] |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Printmaking (especially etching); book illustration; ex-libris[2][3] |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Lembit Tolli[1] |
| 🏅 Awards |
|
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Vive Tolli (also spelled Viive Tolli; née Vive Pajusoo; 28 July 1928 – 8 April 2020) was an Estonian printmaker and educator, known for intaglio printmaking (especially etching), as well as book illustration and ex-libris works.[2][3] She was a long-time member of the Estonian artists’ union, taught at the Estonian State Art Institute (now the Estonian Academy of Arts), and later held emeritus status there.[1][3]
Early life and education
Tolli was born in Tallinn and completed secondary school there in 1947.[1] She first studied ceramics at the Tallinn State Institute of Applied Arts, before switching to printmaking and graduating in 1953 from the Estonian State Art Institute (ERKI).[1][2] Her diploma work was an etching series on fishing on Kihnu island, supervised by artist Alo Hoidre.[1]
Career
From 1953 to 1982 Tolli worked primarily as a freelance artist.[2][1] She later taught at the Estonian State Art Institute, becoming a docent (associate professor) in 1987 and a professor in 1992, and later served as an emeritus professor of the academy.[2][3]
She undertook additional professional training abroad, including in Yugoslavia (1969) and Canada (1987).[2] From 1957 she was a member of the artists’ union, and from 1972 an honorary member of the Finnish Kalevala Association.[2][3]
Work
Tolli’s practice centred on original printmaking, while also encompassing book illustration, bookplates (ex-libris) and posters.[2][3] In institutional summaries of her work, etching is repeatedly noted as her preferred medium, with later works also incorporating colour and spatial illusion within intaglio-based approaches.[3][7]
According to the Estonian Academy of Arts, her best-known motifs include depictions of coastal life and nature, views of Tallinn’s Old Town, and thematic cycles (including a series inspired by Estonian folk-calendar feast days), alongside later works with theatrical and metaphorical elements.[3] A 2009 Sirp notice describing an Old Town-themed exhibition characterised her etchings as rich in nuance and associated her work with a classical position in Estonian printmaking, noting extensive exhibition activity in Estonia and abroad.[8]
Exhibitions and reception
Tolli held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions internationally, including in Finland and Denmark, as recorded in Estonian art reference databases and museum collection portals.[9][10]
In 2018 Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR covered her 90th birthday exhibition at the National Library, reflecting sustained public and institutional attention to her long career.[11] The Estonian Printmakers’ Association also announced related jubilee programming in 2018.[12]
Honours and awards
Tolli received major recognition in both the Soviet-era Estonian SSR system and in post-independence Estonia. She was named Honoured Artist of the Estonian SSR (1965) and People’s Artist of the Estonian SSR (1978).[2][3]
She received the Kristjan Raud Art Award in 1978 (listed among that year’s recipients).[4] In 1998 she won the main prize of the Eduard Wiiralt Art Award (Wiiralti preemia).[5]
Institutional biographies also note that she received the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class (2001).[2][3] In 2008 she received a lifetime-achievement honour from the Estonian National Culture Foundation.[6]
Selected works
- Merilehmad (Sea cows), 1963 (etching)[3]
- Kivine linn (Stone city), 1965 (Tallinn Old Town theme)[3]
- Vaade kirjamehe aknast (View from a writer’s window), 1974 (dedicated to Jaan Kross)[3]
- To Inge, 1997 (etching; silk-screen printing)[7]
Personal life
In 1952 she married sculptor Lembit Tolli; their daughter Tuulikki Tolli became a scenographer.[1][2]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 "In memoriam Vive Tolli". Eesti Kunstnike Liit (in eesti). 9 April 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 "Films about artists". Eesti Kunstnike Liit. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 "Lahkunud on EKA emeriitprofessor Vive Tolli". Eesti Kunstiakadeemia (in eesti). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Kristjan Raud Art Award". Eesti Kunstnike Liit. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Eduard Wiiralti kunstiauhind". Tallinn (City of Tallinn) (in eesti). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "In memoriam Vive Tolli". Sihtasutus Eesti Rahvuskultuuri Fond (in eesti). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "To Inge (1997)". EKM Digitaalkogu (Art Museum of Estonia). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "Vive Tolli Vanalinna vaated Plate tornis". Sirp (in eesti). 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "Vive Tolli". Eesti Kunsti ja Arhitektuuri Biograafiline Leksikon (EKABL) (in eesti). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "Galerii. Rahvusraamatukogus avati Eesti graafika grand old lady Vive Tolli juubelinäitus". ERR (in eesti). 9 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "Vive Tolli 90". Estonian Printmakers (in eesti). 7 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
External links
- Vive Tolli at EKM Digitaalkogu (Art Museum of Estonia)
- Films about artists (includes Printmaker Vive Tolli, Igor Ruus, 2013) at Eesti Kunstnike Liit
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- CS1 eesti-language sources (et)
- 1928 births
- 2020 deaths
- People from Tallinn
- Estonian printmakers
- 20th-century Estonian illustrators
- 21st-century Estonian illustrators
- Estonian women illustrators
- Estonian Academy of Arts alumni
- Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Arts
- Honoured Artists of the Estonian SSR
- People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
- Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class
- 20th-century Estonian women artists
- 21st-century Estonian women artists
