Pencil drawing of fishing beach. A man and woman to the right, a backdrop of many buildings, a quay, and in the background a tall smoking chimney.
Story

Meet Estonia’s artistic Mei sisters

How sisters Lydia, Natalie and Kristine Mei raised the profile of women in Estonian art

by
Beth Daley (opens in new window) (Europeana Foundation)

Lydia, Natalie and Kristine Mei were three sisters, all of whom were artists.

The Mei sisters were born in Liepāja, Latvia, and moved to Tallinn, Estonia, in 1912. The girls then studied in St Petersburg, Russia, before returning to Estonia, where they were to make a big impression through their work in watercolour, sculpture, theatre and book design.

In 1919, the three sisters were the first and only women to participate in an art exhibition at the Pallas Art Association in Tartu, Estonia.

Black and white photograph of two women at the beach, one wearing a shirt, tie and skirt, the other a v-neck vest and shorts.
Black and white photograph of a woman standing in a pool, holding a swimming ring.

Each of the sisters had her own unique talent. They forged new and honest interpretations of women and life as they saw it, and often injected humour into their art.

A sculpture of an old woman in a headscarf with a cow.
Watercolour of six potted plants on a shelf by a window. The plants are succulents and cacti.
Illustration of a naked woman and a suited man with a book in his lap sitting on a sofa.

Kristine, the eldest, was a sculptor, calligrapher and book designer. She was the first Estonian woman to graduate as a sculptor.

Lydia, the middle child, studied architecture and became well-known for her detailed and atmospheric watercolours.

Natalie, the youngest, created theatre, costume and book designs. She was the first woman to graduate from the Pallas Art School, and became a respected academic in textile and costume.

What influenced the Mei sisters' artistic work?

The Mei sisters’ art was influenced by their experience of living through a turbulent period of history - they were young adults during World War I - but also by artistic movements of the time such as neorealism, art deco and New Objectivity.

These movements - and the Mei sisters' interpretations of them - demonstrated new ways of looking at the world and reactions against previous modes such as expressionism.

Watercolour of a variety of colourful flowers.
Five sculptures of people in a range of poses.
Black and white drawing of rows of men, all with mouths open in different positions and expressions.

Lydia’s work had a focus on nature, including flowers, and still lifes. Later, she began to paint porcelain and also contributed to monuments of the Estonian War of Independence.

Kristine Mei’s sense of humour shows in her caricatured portraits. Unfortunately, lots of her sculptures were destroyed in World War II.

Natalie's astute eye for detail, character and behaviour are evident in her illustrations as well as her work for the theatre.

How did the Mei sisters portray women in art?

Lydia Mei's art depicted women with warmth and character, but also shone a light on and challenged how women were viewed within society at the time.

A woman in a blue knee-length dress leans back, one arm behind her head, one leg crossed over the other knee. Her cheeks are red.
Watercolour of naked woman lying back as though on a tree branch, one arm dangling. Her face is indistinct.

Natalie’s attitudes about society manifested themselves in both her art and theatre costume design, which in itself was pioneering - she ensured new costumes were made for each production rather than making do with what was in the store room, making costume a more integral part of a production.

Her legacy persists in the Natalie Mei Award - an annual award given by the Estonian Theatre Association for high-level stage and costume design in a musical production.

Two women, allusion to prostitution: a tree on the left, two standing women on the right, one with an umbrella, the other with a handbag, in the background a river, wooden houses.
Pink dress with big skirt and lace sleeves and frill.

The sisters died within ten years of each other between 1965 to 1975, leaving a great legacy to Estonian art.

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