Estonia's Art Scene: From Kumu to Rome

Estonia, a Baltic nation of 1.3 million, takes the European semester spotlight. The Kumu Art Museum network, with five venues, leads the cultural scene. Its main building, designed by Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori, celebrates ten years in 2017 and showcases Estonian art from the 18th century to the 1990s, with a focus on the Soviet era. Other venues include the Kadrioru Palace in Kadriorg Park, built by Peter the Great, and the Mikkeli Museum housing Johannes Mikkel's collection. In the old town, the Adamson-Eric Museum and the Niguliste Museum, a late Gothic church, feature works by Lübeck masters, notably Bernt Notke's 'Danse Macabre' (late 15th century). Collector Enn Kunila has loaned Estonian paintings to Florence's Museo Novecento, and a major retrospective of national painter Konrad Mägi opens at Rome's Galleria Nazionale on October 10.