The Latvian National Art Museum Presents Boris Berzins Landscapes

Written by Alexei Bartelski Thursday, 28 July 2011 23:26

Riga, Latvia.- The Latvian National Art Museum is proud to present "Boris Berzins: Landscapes" through August 14th. Boris Berzins (1930-2002) is one of the best known Latvian painters of the 20th century and the Latvian National Art Museum holds his bequest - a creative legacy spanning paintings, graphic works and thousands of drawings. The size of the bequest meant that it took some time to catalogue and sort everything, but since 2007, the museum have been hosting themed exhibitions that allow them to show some of Boris Berzins works. Berzins studied at the Rozentals art school (1947–9), the Riga College of Applied Art (1949–52) and the Latvian Academy of Arts (1952–9) in the painting studio of Eduards Kalnins (1904–88).

His graduation work, "Raftsmen", dominated by the bold polychrome patterning of wooden raft planks, is indicative of his subsequent painterly approach to composition. Like his contemporary Biruta Baumane, throughout the 1960s and 1970s he frequently returned to the subject of local peasants and fisherfolk (e.g. "Fisherwomen", 1966 and "Funeral of a Pig", 1978). This choice, together with his restriction of colour schemes, in particular his preference for gold and tans, his laconic rendition of simplified forms and his ambiguous treatment of space, as in "At the Baths" (1968) and "Landscape with Old Trees" (1972) was symptomatic of his eschewing of the official preference for both socio-political themes and realist techniques. Instead, his work can be connected with the early Latvian avant-garde (e.g. Jekabs Kazaks and Romans Suta) and the attempt to depict the peasants’ strength-imbibing connection with their surroundings. The devastating obliteration of this connection in modern, urban Latvian society is more overtly expressed by Berzins in later, grotesque works, such as "Drunkards" (1988). He was appointed a lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Arts in 1963 and in 1986 assistant professor, but his uncompromising criticism of official styles and his, at times, blatant opposition to the Soviet system with all its absurdities and injustices, as in the ironic Still-life with a Low Quality Rabbit Skin", established him as one of the most daring, as well as one of the most innovative and refined, artists of the Soviet period in Latvia. This latest exhibition however concentrates on Berzins' landscapes, and presents a selection of works in different media. As the artist himself said "I do not need much. I do not need the Alpine landscape and mountains." The Latvian countryside, cityscapes and even local gardens provided his inspiration.


The main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Krišjana Valdemara Street is one of the most impressive in the Park and Boulevard Circle area of Riga. It was designed by the museum’s first director, the Baltic German architect and art historian Wilhelm Neumann and built in 1905. The structure, as well as the parameters of the exhibition rooms, corresponded to the level of requirementsrequired standard for an art museum in the Europe of at the previous turn of the centuriescentury. The majestic façade is designed in the baroque and classicist styles; the sculptural group of the central fronton was created by the sculptor August Volz. The interior of the building – in the lobby and the ornaments of the staircase banister – feature elements of Art Nouveau. The top-floor lobby is adorned by with six decorative semi-circle circular paintings by the great Latvian painter Vilhelms Purvitis and the a master of Estonian classical art Gerhard von Rosen. The building is a listed architectural landmark of national significance. Reconstruction and restoration work is scheduled in the foreseeable future. The permanent exhibitions of the museum trace the development of professional art in the Baltic region and Latvia from the mid-1700s to the present day, as well as feature featuring a number of significant episodes periods in the Russian art of from the 18th century – to the first half of the 20th century. The Russian art collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art is the richest in the Baltic countries. The Latvian National Museum of Art regularly holds art exhibitions and scientific conferences, as well as diverse art and culture cultural events, takes part in international projects, as well as compiles compiling and editising museum publications. Alongside the permanent and temporary exhibitions, the Latvian National Museum of Art is known for its educational projects. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.lnmm.lv

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