Estonia releases Ülle Madise’s official presidential photo

Estonia’s President’s Office has released an official photograph of President Ülle Madise, taken by photographer Toomas Volkmann, ERR reported.

The photograph shows Madise beside the presidential flag and a three-part work by Estonian artist Tarrvi Laamann titled “Rooster or hen, young or old.” Madise said the artwork was an important part of the photo and a way to express the joy of life and of being in Estonia, even in the darkest times.

The flag is described as a symbol of Estonia’s historical and legal continuity. Schoolboys rescued it from occupation authorities after it flew at Kadriorg during Otto Tief’s government in 1944. The flag returned to Estonia from Australia in 2026 and is now at the Estonian National Museum.

Volkmann said Madise proposed the concept, asking for the painting to appear in the background. He said the composition has three equal parts representing the state, the president and culture. The painting’s vivid colours and energetic design give the image a bright, sunny mood, he said.

Laamann said the works were inspired by a childhood guessing game played with grass and his later discovery of giant reed, which can grow to five metres, in Italian woods. He created the works in 2017 at a creative house in Mazzano Romano, Italy. They combine wood engraving and oil painting on stretched canvas.