Kolmekeelne ja värviline autoportreede raamat on väärtuslik lisand suure teadlase pärandile. Juri Lotman oli kunstiliselt andekas ning valitses suurepärast joont; ta oskas mõne tõmbega anda edasi asjade, loomade, inimeste olemust. Sageli joonistas ta iseend, ning see osa tema kunstilisest pärandist on kultuurilooliselt, tema kui teadlase biograafia seisukohalt eriti huvitav: autoportree on ühtaegu sisemise ja välise väljendus, tuues esile selle, kuidas autor end ise näeb, millised on tema jaoks ta loomuse ja käitumise kõige olemuslikumad jooned.
Juri Lotman joonistas endast autoportreid sageli juhuslikult, teadustööde servadele, bibliograafilistele lehtedele, kalendrilehtedele jne. Tema autoportreed on tehtud humoorikas võtmes, tihti eneseiroonilised, väljendades autori huumorimeelt. See muudab pildid iseäranis võluvaks. Illustratsioonid erinevad kompositsioonilt: mõni on kiirportree teksti serval, mõni on visandatud teksti sisse, sageli saadab neid sõnaline kommentaar, leidub ka pildiseeriaid, lugusid piltides. Iga joonistuse juures on lühike kommentaar selle mõistmiseks vajaliku infoga: suurus, loomisaeg, säiliku asukoht, vajadusel selgitused sisu ja selle loomise asjaolude kohta.
Kommentaarid on kirjutanud Tatjana Kuzovkina. Lisaks on Tatjana Kuzovkina koos S. M. Danieliga kirjutanud piltidele ka järelsõna. Kuna tegu on olulise lisandiga Juri Lotmani pärandisse, eeskätt tema biograafiasse, on raamat kolmekeelne: kõik kommentaarid, samuti järelsõna on nii eesti, inglise kui ka vene keeles.
Self-portraits of Yuri Lotman
A trilingual and colourful book of self-portraits is a valuable addition to the legacy of this great scientist. Yuri Lotman was artistically talented and mastered a brilliant sketching technique; he knew how to convey the essence of things, animals, people with just a few lines. Often he drew himself, and this part of his artistic heritage is especially interesting culturally and in terms of his biography as a scientist: self-portrait is the expression of inner and outer at the same time, and reveals how the author views himself, what are the most intrinsic features of his character and behaviour.
Yuri Lotman drew self-portraits often at random, on the edges of his research work, bibliographical sheets, calendar sheets etc. His self-portraits have been drawn in a humorous light, often using self-irony and expressing the author’s sense of humour. This makes the images especially charming. Illustrations differ by composition: there are quick portraits on the edges of texts, some have been outlined into the text, often accompanied by verbal comments, there are image series, stories within the images. Each drawing is accompanied by a short comment that contains necessary information for understanding the image: size, time of creation, location of the archival document, explanations on the content and the circumstances of its creation, if necessary.
Comments have been written by Tatyana Kuzovkina. She has also written an epilogue for the drawings in cooperation with S. M. Daniel. As an important addition to Yuri Lotman’s legacy, primarily his biography, the book is trilingual: all comments and the epilogue are in Estonian, Russian and English.
