Painting “Saturn”

Description

This expressionist work by Estonian artist Elmar Kits, titled “Saturn,” was painted in tempera in 1967. The subject references the myth of Saturn devouring his children — at the center of the composition stands the massive figure of the titan, clutching helpless bodies in his hands. The palette is built on earthy ochre tones with dramatic flashes of scarlet and dark blue contours, creating a feeling of anxiety and violence. The brushwork is energetic and impetuous — forms are deliberately distorted and flow into one another in the spirit of European expressionism. The work is signed and dated in the lower right corner — “Kits 67.”