River Seine

In 1924, Vabbe completed many watercolours inspired by Paris, of which the most masterful is River Seine. This well-known futurist painting has been called the most outstanding example of Estonian modernism. The artist used watercolours to emphasise the dynamism and volatility of the depicted scene. The work has all the hallmarks of futurism, with the choice of location – metropolitan Paris – being the most significant. This is no River Emajõgi, slowly meandering through provincial Tartu, but the River Seine, with its speeding steamboats and banks teeming with life. Traces of rapid motion pass through the arches of a bridge, the city stretching on both sides of the river is depicted in an abstract manner, and the horizontal rhythm of the streets contrasts with the vertical rhythm of buildings, with high-rises towering in the distance.