"Kratt" 80x60 cm acrylic on canvas 2023

acrylic on canvas

80x60 cm

2023 

EXHIBITED AT:

1) the Estonian Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, 2023 

2) the Estonian Literary Museum 2023-2024

 

Kratt is a magical creature in old Estonian mythology, a treasure-bearer. A kratt was a creature formed from hay or of old household implements by its master, who then had to give the Devil three drops of blood to bring life to the kratt. The kratt was notable for doing everything the master ordered it to and was mostly used for stealing and bringing various goods for the kratt's owner. It was said to be able to fly around. An interesting aspect of the kratt is that it was necessary for it to constantly keep working, otherwise it would turn dangerous to its owner. Once the kratt became unnecessary, the master of the kratt would ask the creature to do impossible things such as build a ladder from bread, as portrayed in Andrus Kivirähk's Rehepapp (The Old Barny). Impossible tasks took so long to complete that it caused the kratt, which was made of hay, to catch fire and burn to pieces, thus solving the issue of how to get rid of the problematic creature. In folk astronomy a bolide was thought to be a kratt that had been given an impossible job. The enraged kratt was thought to catch on fire and burn away as a fireball. (Wikipedia)