On January 14 an exhibit made up from the collections of the Jelgava Gederts Eliass History and Art Museum (Jelgava, Latvia) opened in Kyiv. The exhibit is a part of a project titled “Treasures of the world’s museums on the holy ground of Sophia Kyivska.” It is the first time that items from the Jelgava museum have been presented at the National Sanctuary “Sophia of Kyiv.”
The Jelgava History and Art Museum is one of the best-known in Latvia, a “spiritual heir” to the Courland Provincial Museum founded in 1818. Today, it offers an exposition on the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1561-1595), on the history of the Jelgava Volost [historical territorial unit – Ed.] and the town itself up to the end of the 20th century, and an exhibit of paintings and memorial works of the great Latvian artist Gederts Eliass (1897-1975).
Eliass, trained as a painter in Brussels and Paris, was awarded the title of the People’s Artist of the Latvian SSR. His canvases are remarkable for their saturated colors and luscious manner of painting, and typically reflect rural themes. Eliass also executed portraits of his contemporaries, landscapes, and still life. The artist’s heritage includes more than 1,000 oil paintings, 600 water colors, 200 pastels, and several thousand drawings.
Most of his works can be found at the Jelgava Museum (all in all, it houses 774 paintings, 258 pastels, 660 water colors, and 242 drawings by Eliass, along with the artist’s books and documents). The exhibit, titled “Welcome to meet us,” also presents modern medallic and textile arts of Latvia. The organizers of the exhibit remind us that the Latvian medallic art is more than 100 years old. It experienced a revival in the 1970s. Nowadays, the Latvian Club of Medallic Art, headed by Janis Strupulis, is very active. Strupulis represents Latvia at FIDEM (the International Medal Art Federation).
Textile art, as a modern form of decorative and applied art, made its advent in the 1930s. Since the late 1960s, the Latvian national school of textile art has taken shape. The current masters of textile art are united in the Association of Latvian Textile Artists. Among them are Marite Leimane and Elena Jekabsone, whose works are also on display at the museum.
The exhibit was promoted by the Embassy of Latvia in Ukraine. The exposition, situated on the premises of the National Sanctuary “Sophia of Kyiv,” will be open till February 28.
