19th-century artists in Tartu
The online exhibition examines the works by 19th-century artists in Tartu, both professionals and nonprofessionals, in the art collection of the University of Tartu Library.
All renowned 19th-century Tartu artists are represented here. Some of them were directly related to the university, as the teachers of the university drawing school K. A. Senff, A. M. Hagen, W. F. Krüger, and their apprentices. The collection also holds the artistic legacy of the university professors J. K. S. Morgenstern, J. W. Krause, and C. E. Claus, which reveals how the diversity of their talent and education enabled them to become amateur artists or to illustrate their scientific research.
The first lithography and wood engraving workshops in Tartu produced single sheets, series, and albums, as well as illustrations for fictional and scientific publications. The most popular part of their output – the historical views of Tartu and university buildings, and the portraits of famous 19th-century professors – give a joy of recognition even now, almost 200 years later.
The exhibition was compiled by Moonika Teemus and Mare Rand, the project was supported by the Department of Culture of the Tartu City Government.