JANIS ROZENTALS' ALTARPIECES (Jana Rozentala altargleznas)

• Authors: Pujate Inta
• Languages of publication: LV

Abstracts

EN

The versatile painter and graphic artist Janis Rozentals (1866-1916) has made a significant contribution to the sacred art of Latvia. In his altarpieces, in line with the early 20th century artistic trends, the painter has subjectively interpreted the life of Christ and enriched the handling of form. A large number of sketches and preliminary drawings as well as models' photographs have survived, allowing to trace the artist's creative thought, versions of themes and interpretations, and reflecting the labour-consuming creation of Christ's, St. Mary's, disciples' and the simple folk's imagery. Still the artist's search for new expressiveness was not always approved, and Rozentals in his letter to the Stende pastor Karl Adolf Glazer deals with the significance of altarpieces in Latvian Lutheran churches and delineates these problems. In 1897 the artist completed the pastor Janis Osis' commission of altarpiece for the Kronau Church in the Province of Kherson, Ukraine. The surviving photograph allows assuming that the chosen topic is 'Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane'. Rozentals had intended to paint his first altarpiece in Latvia for the reconstructed Saldus Lutheran Church, but his proposal was turned down. In 1935 Jelgava Town Council had bought it for the decoration of hospital, but in 1947 the work 'Christ and the Samaritan Woman' was placed in a church - in the small hall of Jelgava St. Ann's Church. Many versions of the composition reflect the artist's experimentation with the main characters' psychological traits. The Latvian National Museum of Art owes a sketch for the altarpiece on the subject 'Christ Walking upon Water' (Navicella) created about 1902. Possibly it was intended for the Christ the Saviour's Church in St. Petersburg where the Latvian congregation existed. In summer 1903 Rozentals altarpiece 'The Ascension of Christ' was unveiled in Stende Church. The initial plan was to depict this event in a four-part composition, but in the last version only the central part with Christ's image was preserved. For the New St. Gertrude's Church Rozentals painted the altarpiece 'Let the Little Children Come to Me' (1908-1911). This work features influences of both the German artist Fritz (Friedrich) von Uhde and the Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt.

Keywords

EN

ALTARPIECES; JANIS ROZENTALS; LATVIAN PAINTING; RELIGIOUS PAINTING

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Publishing House 'Neputns', Terbatas iela 49/51-8, Riga LV-1011, Latvia; www.neputns.lv
• Journal: Materiali Latvijas makslas vesturei
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 7
• Pages: 137-146
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Pujate Inta

• Inta Pujate, Latvian Academy of Art, Latgale branch, Baznicas iela 34a, Rezekne LV-4601, Latvia

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11LVAAAA093234