Ants Murakin was born on 8 January 1892, in the village of Kaarlim\u00f5isa, in Mulgimaa. He was a\npainter, mainly of landscapes, but also worked as a translator. The artist\u2019s interest in nature and his\nobservation of natural phenomena contributed to his translation work. Murakin is known as a\npainter of South-Estonian landscapes. During his 25-year creative period, he created around 1000\n\nworks. He has been described as a lyricist and a thoroughbred lover of nature, who was able to\nconvey and interpret the great joy and sorrow of nature.<\/p>\n
From 1906\u20131910, Ants Murakin studied at the Tartu Art School and the Bazani Theatre decorations\nworkshop, where he improved his knowledge as an external student. In Tartu, in addition to nature\nand painting, Murakin developed his third passion \u2013 language and literature. He met well-known\nauthors and poets, including J. Semper, G. Suits, and J. Aavik. Murakin was accepted as a member\nof the literary group Noor-Eesti in 1912, and his works were highly appreciated at art exhibitions. In\n1913, he was drafted into the Russian army and assigned to the Grodno Hussars regiment in\nWarsaw. In 1914, Murakin became a prisoner of war in Galicia and was sent to a prison camp in\nHungary. Because he spoke German, he became the camp interpreter. It was soon discovered that he\nwas an artist, and he was given his own hut to set up a studio. As a linguist, Ants Murakin taught\nhimself Hungarian and was given the task of finding the Volga Finns among Russian prisoners of\nwar to explore their language. He later lived in Budapest, where he had a spacious studio, and\npainted as a freelance artist. While studying in Hungary, Murakin mostly studied with elderly old-\nschool artists, as the younger ones were on the front line creating war paintings and drawings.\nBefore returning to his homeland, the artist visited an exhibition of works confiscated from nobles\nin Budapest, which left a deep impression on him. The exhibition boasted a large number of French\nImpressionists and Cubists, as well as other classics such as Delacroix, Ingres, Manet, Monet, and\nC\u00e9zanne.<\/p>\n
In 1920, Ants Murakin returned home to Mulgimaa. He started his teaching career in Viljandi as a\ndrawing teacher at a private gymnasium for girls, where he worked until 1928. He was a\ncorrespondent for the local newspaper Sakala in the field of art and culture, author of nature stories,\nand theatre designer, playwright, and linguistic advisor at the Ugala Theatre. After marrying in\n1932, Murakin moved to Tallinn, where he wrote for newspapers and worked as a freelance artist\nand art critic. In 1944, he fled to Sweden.<\/p>\n
Ants Murakin was influenced by Konrad M\u00e4gi in the application of colour to canvas, and his sense\nof colour was also stimulated by Nikolai Triik, Paul Burman, and Jaan Koort (Vallikivi, 2020).\nViljandi Trepim\u00e4gi. Mid-1920s. Oil on canvas. Murakin\u2019s paintings from the 1920s were\ncharacterised by an expressive style with intense colours and dominating blue (Vallikivi, 2020).<\/p>\n
Viljandi Lake. 1930s. Oil on plywood. The colouring of his works made in Tallinn is toned down\nand the finishing is duller (Vallikivi, 2020).<\/p>\n