This portrait of a very pale young woman with long, reddish-blonde hair, wearing an orange dress and sitting against a vibrantly colored tapestry is one of legendary Estonian artist Konrad Mägi 's best-known works. On 9 June 1910, he wrote his friend and agent, Eduard Virgo, “As for my pictures in Helsinki, there are so many bad ones that I can’t exhibit, only perhaps sell privately. For example, there are some landscapes and the picture of a girl’s face in the larger folder. They can’t be put out on display, because as far as I remember, they are very poor.” It is possible that the picture of the girl’s face Mägi was disparaging was "Portrait of a Norwegian Girl." The young woman is believed to be Gerdi, the 14-year-old daughter of Norwegian politician Adam Egede-Nissen. Later, as Gerdi Grieg, she would become a famous star of the screen and stage. Due to her father's left-wing views (he later founded the Norwegian Communist Party), the family had close interactions with Russian emigrants, a group with which Mägi also socialized. Egede-Nissen, a supporter of Lenin (and later, Stalin) had Mägi over for dinner many times. The dominant red colors in the portrait may have been a reference to the father’s political views, yet Mägi made heavy use of red throughout his "Norwegian period." It has been written in a memoir that Mägi later asked Gerdi to pose and “he was interested in my reddish hair.” The background deserves attention as does the girl’s long hair. They are reminiscent of a labyrinth; the girl’s white collar and tapestry also are like intricate arabesques. Depiction of abstract labyrinths in women’s hair was a common practice in Northern Europe during this era to symbolize mystical unworldly power. Some artists like Munch and Klimt imbued theirs with a strong erotic charge; however, this womain in Mägi’s painting is not sexualized and is more a psychological portrait by Mägi, compared to his later work which often would "prettify" and idealize his models.
Norra tütarlapse portree (Portrait of a Norwegian Girl) by Konrad Mägi (Estonian) - Oil on canvas / 1909 - Tartu Kunstimuuseum (Estonia) #WomenInArt #art #artwork #PortraitofaGirl #ArtText #EstonianArt #EstonianArtist #KonradMägi #Mägi #TartuKunstimuuseum #BlueskyArt #redhead #TartuArtMuseum
