Vare, Raivo (1910-1982). Summer Landscape with an Apartment Building. (1978)

Oil on canvas
53,8 x 73 cm
Lower left – R. Vare 78.

Raivo Vare (December 21, 1910 – December 14, 1982) until 1937, before the Estonianization of his name, was known as Johannes Voldemar Labber.
Born into a family, several generations of which lived in Tartumaa, Vana-Kuuste parish, Sipe village. In 1931 he entered the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Tartu, where he studied forestry. He graduated from the university in 1938. In 1945 he entered the State Art Institute in Tartu. In 1951 he graduated from the institute with a degree in painting.
Working at the Estonian Agricultural Academy in 1951-1955, he combined both specialties (forestry and painting) in his work. He illustrated and drew textbooks on forestry and made ink drawings for textbooks on natural history. For the Museum of Soil Science of the Estonian Academy of Agriculture, he painted types of landscapes corresponding to different soil profiles. Being a freelance artist, he painted landscapes, flowers, capturing views of various regions and corners of Estonia. In the period 1952-1957 he participated in exhibitions of Tartu artists, as well as at republican exhibitions. Raivo Vare’s personal exhibition took place in 1958 in Tartu, in the premises of the Estonian Agricultural Academy. In addition to painting, the artist was fond of photography.