Skatpunktu maiņa. Rēveles periods (1906–1909) un tā atbalsis Vilhelma Purvīša dzīvē un glezniecībā

• Authors: Ābele Kristiāna

Title variants

EN

Change of Perspective. The Tallinn Period (1906–1909) and its Aftermath in the Life and Painting of Vilhelms Purvītis

• Languages of publication: LV

Abstracts

EN

All biographies of the prominent Latvian landscape painter Vilhelms Purvītis (1872–1945) and almost every overview of early 20th century Latvian art briefly outline the period between two dates in his career – 1906 when he left Riga for Tallinn (old Latvian: Rēvele; German: Reval) to teach drawing in two secondary schools and 1909 when he returned to head the Riga City Art School. Nevertheless, Latvian authors in their representation of Purvītis’ Tallinn period have left unnoticed that this city was not only the object of his impressions painted alongside his teaching duties but also a cultural centre where Purvītis’ art was highly appreciated by critics and the public alike. This continuous ignorance has resulted in misinterpretations and unverified assumptions. Exploring the inner network of Baltic art life beyond the borders of present day national states, the author has attempted to fill in the existing gaps of knowledge. The sources of this study include originals and reproductions of Purvītis’ paintings of the Tallinn period, notices, reviews and advertisements in Baltic German, Latvian, Estonian and Russian periodicals from 1906–1909, catalogues of exhibitions and museums, documents in Estonian and Latvian archives as well as the memoir of Purvītis’ Tallinn pupil Alfred Rosenberg whose shameful role in the history of the Third Reich does not detract from the fact that some episodes of his Last Notes give illuminating evidence about the activities of the Latvian painter in the Estonian capital. The main intertwined questions in the article refer to Purvītis in the art scene of Tallinn and the representation of Tallinn in his painting while also tracing the aftermath of this period in his later life and work.

Keywords

EN

VILHELMS PURVĪTIS; BALTIC ART; PAINTING; LANDSCAPES; SEASCAPES; TOWNSCAPES; IMPRESSIONISM; ARTISTIC LIFE

• Publisher: Institute of Art History of the Latvian Academy of Art and Art History Research Support Foundation
• Journal: Makslas Vesture un Teorija
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 24
• Pages: 18-42

Contributors

author

Ābele Kristiāna

• Art Academy of Latvia Institute of Art History, Akadēmijas laukums 1-302, Riga LV-1050, Latvia