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Delightful museum with fantasy paintings of Estonian artist Kondas

It is a small charming museum dedicated to the local artist Paul Kondas. His naive paintings are... read more

Reviewed 14 July 2019
Globetrotter045
,
Haacht, Belgium
via mobile
a place to make time for

A nice little art space with interesting exhibitions of naivistic art and a small permanent... read more

Reviewed 3 October 2016
Anu R
,
Estonia
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Reviewed 3 October 2016

A nice little art space with interesting exhibitions of naivistic art and a small permanent collection. Very friendly staff.

Date of experience: October 2016
1  Thank Anu R
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 1 September 2016

This a charming small museum, possibly the most engaging of its kind in Estonia. The collection is housed in a vintage brick building on Pikk Street, at the former vicarage of the nearby bell-playing St. John's Church, between the city center and the castle ruins. It features the paintings of the Estonian artist and teacher, Paul Kondas, who has been recognized internationally for his work in the naive style.

Kondas' life from 1900 to 1985 spanned the disruptive history of Estonian occupation by Russia and independence movements, as well as WW2 and all the modernist twists in art. His work, by turns, does too: it celebrates Estonian life and culture; digs surrealistically into nightmares, dreams and sexuality; condemns Soviet repression and the horrors of wartime - all in the colorful folk styles of the naive style. Many of his pieces are double-sided, with two very different works on related themes. Be sure to ask the staff to flip them around for you. The woman who helped us also gave us a very knowledgeable guided tour; her enthusiasm and excitement about all the art made the visit more special.

The ambitious museum also encourages other artists to create work for special exhibits here or hosts retrospectives. During our visit, two exhibitions were specifically made for showing at the museum. One room featured a series of meditations by England's John Digby on the moon and Chinese lunar poetry. Another was an op-art painting extravaganza by animation artist Mati Kutt. Another room looked back over 30 years of figurative work by the surrealistic provocateur Raul Rajangu.

Date of experience: August 2016
2  Thank AdventurePhiles
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 21 February 2016

paul condas expos of naive art apart from others there which change on occasions.Very friendly staff full of information who will guide you around explaining the art present.It is set in a nice area very close to the castle ruins and the folk music centre.do visit these when in viljandi.

Date of experience: February 2016
Thank KEITH58958
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 17 June 2014

This welcoming museum in the tow of Viljandi is worth a trip. In addition to its permanent collection of the works of its namesake, each room in this intimate space exhibited the works of naive artists from several countries and traditions. There was much to see and enjoy, including crafts focused on strawberries, an image central to an important painting in the collection. This is a wonderful place to enjoy art in the context of village life. The staff is English speaking and will be happy to show you around. Don't miss this very special museum.

Date of experience: June 2014
Thank NewYorkHildreth
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 10 May 2014

I really enjoy watching Kondas naive art and reading about the explanation about his pictures.
very interesting to learn more about Estonia history that way :-)
And I like naive art :-)

Date of experience: May 2014
1  Thank MaJuTo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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