Vive Tolli

Vive Tolli
Born
Vive Pajusoo

(1928-07-28)28 July 1928[1]
Tallinn, Estonia[1]
Died8 April 2020(2020-04-08) (aged 91)[1]
Other namesViive Tolli
CitizenshipEstonian
EducationEstonian State Art Institute (printmaking, grad. 1953)[1]
Known forPrintmaking (especially etching); book illustration; ex-libris[2][3]
SpouseLembit Tolli[1]
Awards
  • Honoured Artist of the Estonian SSR (1965)[2]
  • People's Artist of the Estonian SSR (1978)[2]
  • Kristjan Raud Art Award (1978)[4]
  • Eduard Wiiralt Art Award (1998)[5]
  • Order of the White Star, 3rd Class (2001)[2][3]
  • Estonian National Culture Foundation lifetime-achievement honour (2008)[6]

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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "In memoriam Vive Tolli". Eesti Kunstnike Liit (in Estonian). 9 April 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Films about artists". Eesti Kunstnike Liit. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Lahkunud on EKA emeriitprofessor Vive Tolli". Eesti Kunstiakadeemia (in Estonian). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Kristjan Raud Art Award". Eesti Kunstnike Liit. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Eduard Wiiralti kunstiauhind". Tallinn (City of Tallinn) (in Estonian). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b "In memoriam Vive Tolli". Sihtasutus Eesti Rahvuskultuuri Fond (in Estonian). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b "To Inge (1997)". EKM Digitaalkogu (Art Museum of Estonia). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Vive Tolli Vanalinna vaated Plate tornis". Sirp (in Estonian). 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Vive Tolli". EKM Digitaalkogu (Art Museum of Estonia) (in Estonian). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Vive Tolli". Eesti Kunsti ja Arhitektuuri Biograafiline Leksikon (EKABL) (in Estonian). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Galerii. Rahvusraamatukogus avati Eesti graafika grand old lady Vive Tolli juubelinäitus". ERR (in Estonian). 9 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Vive Tolli 90". Estonian Printmakers (in Estonian). 7 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  • 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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