List of Latvian sculptors explained

This is a list of sculptors who were born or whose creative production is associated with Latvia:

A

• Naoum Aronson (1872–1943) was a born in Krāslava, known for his busts of Louis Pasteur, Leo Tolstoy, Grigori Rasputin, Vladimir Lenin and others.

B

• Kārlis Baumanis (sculptor) (1916–2011), one of creators of the Rainis Grave Memorial.^[1]
• Léopold Bernhard Bernstamm (1859–1939), gained fame in the early 1880s by creating over three hundred sculptural portraits of Russian and French personalities.^[2]
• Aigars Bikše (born 1969) known for his large scale sculptures as well as medalist works.^{[3] [4]}
• Laimonis Blumbergs (1919–2014) renown for his stone sculptures in granite, marble, labradorite, limestone and boulder.^[5]
• Aleksandra Briede (1901–1992) worked on small-scale figurative compositions and portraits. Together with her husband sculptor Jānis Briedis worked on monuments and busts of Soviet leaders. In the 1960s her busts of Lenin were visible in many locations in Latvian SSR.^[6]
• Jānis Briedis (sculptor) (1902–1953) worked on monuments and memorials. Together with his wife sculptor Aleksandra Briede won state competition to create enormous Stalin monument in Riga. Project was never implemented.^[7]
• Leo Janis-Briedītis (1922–2007) known for using polished stainless steel as sculptural material.^[8]
• Leo Bukovsky (1910–1984) known for his World War II memorials.^[9] One of creators of the Salaspils Memorial.^[10]

C

• Vija Celmins (born 1938), known for her visual art and pop art sculptures.^[11]
• Valdis Celms (born 1943), known for his kinetic art.^[12]

D

• Lea Davidova-Medene (1921–1986) known for her sculptural portraits.^[13]
• Igors Dobičins (born 1958), known for works in public spaces.^{[14] [15]}
• Arta Dumpe (born 1933), known for Brothers' Cemetery memorial in Lestene.^[16]
• Burkards Dzenis (1879–1966), was sculptor and designer, director of the Latvian National Museum of Art in 1920–1944.^[17]

F

• Ojārs Arvīds Feldbergs (born 1947), provisional winner of a contest for a monument to commemorate the centenary of Latvian independence.^[18]
• Rūdolfs Feldbergs, created Monument to the Army Regiment of the 1st Armored Division in Art Deco style in Riga in cooperation with architect Verners Vitands.^{[19] [20] [21]}
• Indulis Folkmanis (born 1939), known for public monuments in Daugavpils.^[22]

G

• Willy Gordon (1918–2003), prominent Swedish-Jewish sculptor born in Latvia, created a monument in honour of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.^[23]
• Kristaps Gulbis (born 1967), known for numerous contemporary art projects in more than 25 countries.^[24]

J

• Voldemārs Jākobsons (1899–1974) known for his park sculptures.^[25]
• Karlis Johansons (1890–1929), developed "self-stabilizing constructions" considered to be the prototypes of the tensegrity structures.^[26]

L

• Marta Lange (1903–1985) known for her sculptural portraits for installation in public places.^[27]
• Edward Leedskalnin (1887–1951), built the Coral Castle in Florida.

M

• Emīls Melderis (1889–1979) known for his generalized heads and years of teaching sculpture in Latvia.^[28]
• Youri Messen-Jaschin (born 1941) known for kinetic glass and acrylic sculptures.^[29]
• Arnold Mikelson (1922–1984) known for his wood carvings.^[30]
• Vera Mukhina (1889–1953), prominent Soviet sculptor, known for Worker and Kolkhoz Woman sculpture, an example of both the socialist realism and Art Deco styles.^[31]

R

• Indulis Ranka (1934–2017), known for granite sculptures in the outdoor sculpture gardens the Dainas Hill and the Song Garden located in the Turaida Castle Museum Reserve.^[32]

S

• Oļegs Skarainis (1923–2017) one of creators of the Salaspils Memorial.^[10]
• Gustavs Šķilters (1874–1954), worked with variety of materials and several styles, notably impressionism, symbolism and realism.^[33]
• Marta Skulme (1890–1962), the first professional Latvian woman sculptor. In 1924 she shared the 1st prize with Kārlis Zāle in the competition for the Freedom Monument.^[34]
• Jānis Strupulis (born 1949), sculptor and graphical designer, designed a number of modern Latvian coins.^[35]

T

• Jānis Tilbergs (1880–1972), painter and sculptor, most renowned as a highly accomplished portraitist. The Latvian lats coins struck in 1924–1926 carried the palm branch design by Tilbergs.^[36]
• Vilnis Titāns (1944–2006) known for stones with carved marks and inscriptions on Latvian cultural-historical sites.^[37]
• Vilhelms Treijs (1892–unknown) created sculptural decor of the Court Hall of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia, but mostly worked in memorial sculpture. He was the first chairman of the Latvian Association of the Deaf.^[38]

V

• August Volz (1851–1926), known for sculptures decorating the House of the Blackheads.^[39]

Z

• Kārlis Zāle (1888–1942), known for gates at Brothers' Cemetery and the Freedom Monument in Riga.^[40]
• Teodors Zaļkalns (1876–1972), one of the first professional Latvian sculptors.^[41]
• Jānis Zariņš (sculptor) (1913–2000) one of creators of the Salaspils Memorial.^[10]
• Valentina Zeïlé (born 1937) sculptor and medalist renown in Latvia and France.^[42]

See also

• List of Latvian architects
• List of Latvian artists
• Culture of Latvia

Notes and References

1. https://www.delfi.lv/kultura/news/art/muziba-aizgajis-telnieks-karlis-baumanis.d?id=36217211 Mūžībā aizgājis tēlnieks Kārlis Baumanis
2. Latvian Sculptors: Edward Leedskalnin, Janis Tilbergs, Léopold Bernhard Bernstamm, Karlis Zale General Books LLC, 2010,
3. https://www.diena.lv/atslegvards/aigars-bikse Aigars Bikše.
4. https://monetas.bank.lv/makslinieki/aigars-bikse Aigars Bikše. Mākslinieka monētas.
5. https://timenote.info/lv/Laimonis-Blumbergs Laimonis Blumbergs
6. http://www.bildmuseet.umu.se/sv/utstaellning/sovjetisk-mytologi-i-lettisk-konst/about-the-artists/11850 Soviet Mythology in Latvian Art
7. Rita Laima Skylarks and Rebels: A Memoir about the Soviet Russian Occupation of Latvia, Life in a Totalitarian State, and Freedom. Columbia University Press, 2017,
8. http://www.balvurcb.lv/kb/?View=entry&EntryID=98 Briedītis Leo Jānis
9. http://www.russkije.lv/en/lib/read/lev-bukovsky.html Leo Bukovsky
10. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=677938 The Salaspils Memorial Ensemble and Monument to Prisoners Of War
11. News: Los Angeles Times, ART REVIEW: The Profound Silence of Vija Celmins : MOCA retrospective. Christopher . Knight. December 21, 1993.
12. Valdis Celms The Dialectic of Motion and Stasis in Kinetic ArtLeonardo Vol. 27, No. 5, Prometheus: Art, Science and Technology in the Former Soviet Union: Special Issue (1994), pp. 387-390 The MIT Press
13. https://www.oxfordartonline.com/benezit/abstract/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.001.0001/acref-9780199773787-e-00047341?rskey=MaV7Vq&result=18 Davidova-Medene, Lea
14. Vincent Hunt Blood in the Forest: The End of the Second World War in the Courland Pocket page 74, Helion and Company, 2017, 272 pages,
15. http://www.visittukums.lv/en/What-to-see/Sculptures-and-monuments/Monument-of-the-Christmas-Battles-in-Dzukste Monument of the Christmas Battles in Džūkste
16. Vincent Hunt Blood in the Forest: The End of the Second World War in the Courland Pocket page 105, Helion and Company, 2017, 272 pages
17. Gundega Cēbere; Burkards Dzenis Burkards Dzenis Rīga, Latvijas Enciklopēdija, 1997.
18. News: Pieminekļa "Latvijai-100" metu konkursā piešķirta 2. vieta un divas 3. vietas. lv. 13 February 2016. grani.lv. 17 February 2016.
19. Rīga. Piemineklis Auto tanku pulka kritušajiem karavīriem Europeana
20. Ervīns Jākobsons Uz ežiņas galvu liku… Brīvības cīnītāju piemiņas vietas - 1.daļa Laikmeta zīmes November 7, 2016
21. Piemineklis 1.bruņotā diviziona Autotanku pulka karavīriem (Autotanku pulka piemineklis) Spārītis O. Rīgas pieminekļi un dekoratīvā tēlniecība. (Monuments and Decorative Sculpture in Riga), 2007, Riga: Nacionālais apgāds, 194 p. (in Latvian and English).
22. https://statues.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?webpage=ST&record=lv099 Daugavpils. Monument to the defenders of the city. War Memorial 1919.
23. T. Schult A Hero’s Many Faces: Raoul Wallenberg in Contemporary Monuments pp. 348-350 Springer 2009,
24. Web site: Keller. Hadley. 17 On-the-Rise Designers You Should Know Now. Architectural Digest . 2 March 2017 . 30 May 2021.
25. http://www.muzeji.lv/en/museums/sculptor-voldemars-jakobsons-historic-house/ Sculptor Voldemārs Jākobsons historic house.
26. Karl Ioganson: From Construction to Technology and Invention. p. 70. Book: Henry Art Gallery . Andrews, Richard . Kalinovska, Milena . Art Into Life: Russian Constructivism 1914-1932 . Rizzoli, New York . 1990 . 276 . 0847811883 .
27. Rasma Lāce Marta Lange Rīga, Zinātne, 1981
28. http://www.lnmm.lv/lv/apmekle/izstades/6142-telniekam-emilam-melderim-130 Tēlniekam Emīlam Melderim – 130
29. René Neuenschwander Youri Messenjaschin – the installations, sculptures, oil paintings.
30. http://www.mindandmatterart.com/arnold_mikelson Arnold Mikelson. A History.
31. [Richard Overy]
32. http://garamantas.lv/lv/illustration/379304/Tenieks-Indulis-Ranka-Turaidas-Dainu-kalna Tēnieks Indulis Ranka Turaidas Dainu kalnā
33. Māksla un arhitektūra biogrāfijās / [atb. red. Andris Vilsons, Anita Vanaga; zin. red.: Velta Holcmane … [u.c.]; fotogr.: Aivars Lode, Mārtiņš Salna]. 3. sēj. A-Kal. — Rīga : Latvijas enciklopēdija, 1995 : (Latvijas karte). — 255 lpp. : il. ; 24 cm. — (Latvija un latvieši). Grāmata Skata formas Eksemplāri
34. Web site: Studija.lv . Tēlnieces Martas Liepiņas-Skulmes (1890–1962) darbu izstāde .
35. http://artists.lv/profile/janis-strupulis/ Jānis Strupulis
36. http://www.bank.lv/images/img_lb/naudas/english/about/index.html Latvian Money
37. https://www.lsm.lv/raksts/kultura/maksla/piemin-telnieku-vilni-titanu-75-jubileja.a326918/ Piemin tēlnieku Vilni Titānu 75. jubilejā
38. https://timenote.info/lv/Vilhelms-Vilis-Janis-Treijs Vilhelms Vilis Jānis Treijs
39. Book: Appena, Ināra. 2012. Augusts Volz, Sculptor of Riga. Riga. Neputns. 978-9984-807-86-7.
40. http://www.lsm.lv/lv/raksts/maksla/kultura/restaurets-karla-zales-mates-latvijas-mets.a219128/ "Renovated Charles Lawn «Mother Latvian» Mets"
41. http://www.apinis.lv/books/100%20LV%20web/100%20LV%2031%20Teodors%20Za%C4%BCkalns.pdf Teodors Zaļkalns
42. https://www.pays-baltes.com/Maitre-sculpteur-et-medailleur Maître sculpteur et médailleur letton, Valentina Zeïlé