Art

The history of Latvian art is manifold. Mark Rothko, the world-famous founder of avant-garde art was born in Latvia. Then there is the aggressively engaged art, at its best in the works by Gustavs Klucis and there are so many other artists we can be proud of.
Late 18th Century—Mid-19th

Century In early 19th century the main centres of art were the cities of Riga and Jelgava. From time to time exhibitions of foreign art appeared in one city or the other. The first exhibition of Baltic artists took place in 1842 at the House of Blackheads in Riga. As it was not possible to study art in Latvia, many artists went abroad for education—usually to the nearby cities of Tartu (Estonia) or St. Petersburg (Russia).
During this period arts and related professions were considered to be the realm of Baltic Germans. When part of Latvia’s territory became incorporated into the Russian Empire (1795), the influence of Russian art and cultural trends grew. Landscape painting gained more prominence and was partly dominated by romanticised foreign landscapes and partly by Latvian sceneries painted according to local canons. Among the most important artists of the period was animal painter Johann Heinrich Baumann (1753-1832) and watercolour artist and draughtsman Johann Christof Brotze (1742-1823). 

Second Half of 19th

CenturyDuring the second half of 19th century the art of painting in Latvia was influenced by developments in Russian art because many Latvian artists were educated in St. Petersburg. Back then, St. Petersburg Academy of Arts was dominated by classicism, romanticism and realism styles or a merger of all. The themes of painting, however, emerged from mythological and historic subjects. Oil on canvas was the traditional technique. It was during this period when first professional Latvian artists appeared. The most outstanding artist of mid-19th century was Karlis Huns (1830-1877), followed by another great Latvian artist – Julijs Feders (1838-1909). 

Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century

In late 19th century situation had not changed much in the realm of education: the majority of Latvian artists were still studying in St. Petersburg. It was in St. Petersburg where Latvians created an arts union called “Rukis” (The Gnome). The purpose of the society was to lay the foundations for an independent Latvian art. The Gnome was led by such well-known artists as Janis Rozentals (1866-1916), Vilhelms Purvitis (1872-1945), Janis Valters (1869-1932) and Teodors Zalkalns (1876-1972).In early 20th century Latvian art of painting was strongly influenced by different strands of European modernism—fovism, cubism, Russian symbolism, postimpressionism, and to a certain extent also by expressionism and futurism. The first Latvian artist to follow the trends of European modernism was Voldemars Matvejs (1877-1914).The beginning of 20th century was also the time when the first generation of Latvian sculptors was born—Gustavs Skilters (1974-1954), Teodors Zalkalns and Burkards Dzenis (1879-1966). All the three of them were students at Stiglitz’s Central School for Technical Drawing in St. Petersburg. 

First Half of the 20th

CenturySeveral important events occurred in early 20th century. First of all, the City Museum of Art (now Latvian National Museum of Art) was founded in 1906. The next pivotal development followed in 1921 with the establishment of Latvian Academy of Arts. In addition to the Academy, there were a couple of other educational institutions for emerging artists—the Draughtsmanship and Painting Studio under the National University of Riga, as well as some other schools of art and craft. The number of professional artists grew considerably. The same could be said about the formation of artist unions the number of which grew considerably: the Riga Group (also called Expressionist Group), the Union of Independent Artists, “Zala varna” (The Green Crow) etc. Regarding monumental sculpture, such important names can be mentioned as Karlis Zale (1888-1942), Teodors Zalkalns and Karlis Zemdega (1894-1963). After Second World War Latvia became incorporated into the USSR. The Soviet occupation and the related socio-political changes had a dramatic effect on developments in art and the lives of artists. It was postulated that the only appropriate artistic method was socialist realism which presupposed naturalistic depiction of reality. Thematic painting became the priority—with figural compositions revealing historic and contemporary themes and concerns. 

Late 1950s

Late 1950s brought positive changes to social life. The style of socialist realism gained depth giving artists more freedom of interpretation and creative expression. In mid-1950s a new generation of artists emerged in Latvian art scene and introduced new trends in easel-painting, most remarkably the themes of universality and monumentality. Artistic novelties of the time—rhythmic composition, simple figures placed at the forefront of paintings, wide and free brush strokes, use of colour planes—were in sharp contrast with the previously celebrated naturalism and attention to detail. The new approach became known as the “Harsh Style.” Paintings were still depicting the motifs of socialist world outlook and regularly portrayed masculine and robust workmen (builders, fishermen, farmers). Historic painting, however, was infatuated by Latvian riflemen—a subject that remained popular until mid-1980s. 

Late 1960s and 70s

The urge to find individual style and to grow professionally led to gradual abandonment of the Harsh Style. To escape the sad realities of Soviet life and its endless compromises, society was in need of stable values and ideals. Artists found refuge in the themes of mother and child, folklore and world cultural heritage. Much more attention in art was given to the different dimensions of personality. Many works lost the sense of optimism that was so common in earlier creative work. In the art of painting, all the genres often picked up romantic and intimately meditative moods.1970s marked the beginning of merging genres, a tendency that was completed only in late 1990s. A characteristic feature of this period was the fusion of time and space in multiple-figure compositions, which often were allegoric or associative. All of that is evident in the impressive works of Maija Tabaka. Another strand of the time was led by such artists as Miervaldis Polis and Liga Purmale who were inspired by fotorealism and interested in a very precise and objective portrayal of reality. 

1980s

1980s was a turbulent time in all spheres of life, especially politics and social affairs. It was a time, which came with new ideals and values. Paintings often expressed the confusion of artists and their willingness to escape reality or at least dissociate from it. Especially evident it was in the large-scale works of youngest generation of artists—Ieva Iltnere, Sandra Krastina, Dace Liela, Janis Mitrevics, Edgars Verpe and Aija Zarina. It was during 1980s when painting lost its status as the leading genre of art. Even the more conservative members of art-world (painters, sculptors and graphic artists) turned to the opportunities offered by the contemporary means of creative expression such as installations, environmental art, video works and social campaigns. For arts the most important innovation of the 1980s was screen-printing which became widely used by Latvian artists of the time. The most impressive were large-scale works by Andris Breze, Kristaps Gelzis, Normunds Lacis, Ojars Petersons and Juris Putrams. Their prints are symbolic of the Soviet Union’s decline; they express irony, dissatisfaction with social degradation and the all-pervasive double morality.

1991-2006

The newly regained independence of Latvia made the heavy ideological pressure coming from the Soviet Union’s governance fade away. Vast majority of the previously set boundaries, also in art, were torn down. Artists begun to work according to the rules of market economy and competition. The year of 1993 came with the foundation of Soros Centre for Contemporary Art (since 2000 functioning as the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art) which organised yearly exhibitions and urged artists to engage in new experiments. During 1990s, Latvian art-world in general was interesting with the varied artistic expressions of different artist generations. Traditional art forms coexisted with installations, video, photography, new media and multimedia projects which became widespread in the latter part of 1990s. In terms of painting, artists rushed to encompass the previously inaccessible and forbidden Western modernism and postmodernism. Special attention was given to abstract forms which could also be seen as a logical consequence of previous developments. As conceptual art became widely accepted, painting and graphic art begun to utilise the possibilities offered by photography and new technologies.