Hingelise koormatuse lahendamine: Kristjan Raud, Erich von Kügelgen, Eduard Wiiralt
Resolving Inner Struggles Through Artistic Practice: Kristjan Raud, Erich von Kügelgen, Eduard Wiiralt

Summary/Abstract: Much has been written about Kristjan Raud (1865–1943), mostly without using the term Decadence but instead in the context of Symbolist and national art. The boundary line between Decadence and Symbolism in fine art is indeed blurry. Art scholars have often resorted to simply using the term Decadence interchangeably with Symbolism. Yet a more substantive analysis of the interplay between form and content in the works would probably help to better understand the differences between Decadence and Symbolism, something not encouraged by a focus purely on form or thematic aspects. The term Decadence cannot therefore be applied using simple analogies. In my article, I focus on the works of Kristjan Raud portraying him as an artist who was immersed in the fin-de-siècle Decadent sensibility and who aspired to embody his perceptions in his art practice. To understand Raud’s distinctive position in relation to his contemporaries, I examine two other artists who worked in the Decadence/Decadentism vein: Erich von Kügelgen (1870–1945) and Eduard Wiiralt (1898–1954), in whose work the discourse on Decadence is manifested mainly as typical themes explored in Decadent art.

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