Two images of a spaceman in estonian art: The missing myth of a hero and the fable of failure

Abstract

The space explorer, an idol of the 1960s and 1970s, holds an important place among the visual memories in the modern culture of the 20th century. In spite of its highly specific historical background, the artistic depiction of the cosmonaut cannot be seen as documentary, but as a creation of a mythological and poetical text. The political climate in which the works of art were created is extremely important, as the cosmonaut is a central figure in Cold War politics, and mythology can only have one historical foundation, since myth is the speech chosen by history.1.