Tomorrow, the new exhibition “Art or Science” opens at KUMU

Text Timo Huttunen
Photos Estonian Art Museum

August Matthias Hagen. Porphyry wall at Hogland lighthouse. 1835. Sepia, watercolour, gouache. Tartu University Library

 

The exhibition “Kunst või teadus”, which means Art or Science in English, is an exhibition that examines the connections between art and natural sciences in the 19th and early 20th centuries. For the first time, the exhibition deals with the historical relationship between art and science in Estonia.

The exhibition highlights the contribution of artists and scientists to the study and description of botany, zoology, medicine, climate, and palaeontology of Estonia, but also of the Russian Empire more broadly.

The goal is to emphasize the importance of the images in creating and shaping knowledge, because often the visual history of science is largely forgotten.

In the exhibition, historical scientific images are put into dialogue with the present day, because nowadays knowledge is more and more pictorial and the ability to interpret images critically is needed more and more.

In addition to the collections of the University of Tartu, in the exhibition, you can also see scientific pictures from other Estonian collections and get to know many draftsmen and illustrators who have remained hidden behind the so-called real artists and scientists.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Museum of the University of Tartu, the Estonian Art Museum and the Estonian Academy of Arts.

”Kunst või teadus” can be seen at Kumu from October 14, 2022 until March 19, 2023. From October 2023, the exhibition will be on display at the Tartu University Museum.

KUMU is an art museum located in Tallinn’s Kadriorg Park. It is the largest art museum in the Baltics.

 

 

 

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Art Art Exhibition Art or Science Exhibition Kumu Kunst või teadus Science Tallinn