At the Heart of Interwar Latvian Modernism: the Art of Aleksandra Beļcova

By: Gustė Matulionytė

Aleksandra Beļcova (1892-1981) is lauded as one of the most prominent Latvian modernists and praised for her highly diverse and unique oeuvre. Born in the Russian Empire, the young artist met several refugee artists from Latvia and Estonia during studies in Penza and Petrograd. Upon the invitation of a fellow artist Romans Suta, who would later become her husband, Beļcova moved to Riga in 1919, where she quickly became integrated in the Latvian interwar art scene. Beļcova first came to prominence for her exquisite cubist paintings, but throughout her artistic career she worked in a variety of styles and made distinct contributions to Art Deco, New Objectivity and Neorealism. Her artistic production mostly details scenes of contemporary life, and the striking compositions earned the recognition of both Latvian and international audiences.

Aleksandra Beļcova, The Tennis Player, 1927, oil on canvas. Source: https://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/aleksandra-belcova/.

After centuries of foreign rule, Latvia declared independence in 1918, which caused a surge in artists’ enthusiasm. Although most Latvian artists were educated in Russian art schools, they were keenly interested in modernist art developments across Europe. They sought to create a Latvian modernism that would closely connect to contemporary artistic trends, yet still be distinct and bring attention to the budding art scene of the newly independent country. Many of these Russian-educated artists banded together and established the Riga Artists’ Group (Rīgas mākslinieku grupa) in 1919. Beļcova became part of this group shortly after her arrival in Riga. One of the first projects undertaken by the group was the decoration of the Sukubs café, which was owned by Suta’s mother. The name of the café combined the names of two most prominent art movements in contemporary Latvian art – ‘Su’ for Suprematism, and ‘Ku’ for Cubism. Six artists collaborated on paintings for the interior, including Beļcova, who later contributed three additional decorative panels in 1922. The panels evidence a cubist influence and feature multiple overlapping planes in bright colours. The abstract motifs and shapes complement the rest of the interior and are widely recognised as some of the most iconic works of Latvian Cubism. The Sukubs café itself became a key meeting spot for the burgeoning Latvian Bohemia, and the place where many connections between modern artists, writers, and musicians were forged.

Aleksandra Beļcova, Sukubs. Decorative Panel No.2, 1922, oil on canvas. Source: https://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/aleksandra-belcova/.

 Like the panels for Sukubs, Beļcova’s paintings of the early 1920s are mostly executed in a cubist style. She painted numerous female portraits, as well as self-portraits, most of which are marked by a melancholic, lyrical atmosphere, stylised depiction, and geometric backgrounds. However, during this time she also began experimenting with landscape painting – a development that resulted from her travels across Europe. The newly independent Latvian state strongly encouraged the development of arts, and as such granted many artists sponsored trips to European artistic centres. Beļcova, Suta, and other members of the Riga Artists’ Group visited Paris, Berlin, and Dresden, where they met with local artists, participated in exhibitions, and contributed to various publications in the name of spreading awareness about Latvian modernism. Notably, Beļcova’s paintings were displayed at the 1922 Futurist exhibition in Berlin, which was organised by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, and reproductions of her works were featured in the French L’Esprit nouveau journal.

Aleksandra Beļcova, White and Black [Baltā un melnā], 1925, oil on canvas. Source: https://www.lnmm.lv.

From 1925-1931 Beļcova regularly spent time in the south of France. Although the purpose of the trips was to get medical treatment for tuberculosis, they enabled Beļcova to keep her finger on the pulse of the newest artistic developments, including the emergent revival of realism. During this period Beļcova gradually strayed from stylised cubist compositions in favour of more realistic representation. Similarly to the start of the decade, she mostly focused on portraits of modern, emancipated women. Her painting Baltā un melnā (White and Black), 1925, is perhaps the best-known work of Beļcova’s entire oeuvre. It could be considered a reworking of the popular motif of a reclining white woman with a servant, such as Manet’s Olympia, 1863. The faces of the sitters are carefully modelled into still, impassive expressions. Precise, sharp realism dominates, but cubist influence is still evident in the geometric background elements. The two figures sharply contrast one another. The young woman in the foreground sits on the floor, clad in only a white tank top, facing the viewer with a vacant stare. The woman on the couch is reclining among pillows, fanning herself, and wears a fashionable purple kaftan, silk trousers, and embroidered slippers, emanating an air of luxury. In the background, a Buddhist statue stands next to a vase of white lilies – a symbol of purity – which face the woman on the couch. All the elements of the painting – the figures, the clothing, the background elements, even the title – evidence a deeply problematic power dynamic and exoticizing of non-European people and cultures. The painting is further complicated by the identities of the figures. The white woman is believed to be Biruta Ozoliņa-Krauze, a wife of the Italian ambassador to Thailand, while the younger woman is a Thai servant whose name is unknown. The Thai woman worked as a wet nurse for Ozoliņa-Krauze, who later decided to bring her back to Latvia. Although they was not uncommon at the time, such acts and their representation shine a light on the colonial and imperial legacies present in Latvian art history.

Aleksandra Beļcova, Farewell Virtue [Adieu Vertu], 1928, porcelain, overglaze painting, gilding, Ø 25 cm. Source: https://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/aleksandra-belcova/.

Though the shift towards a greater degree of realism was evident in her paintings, Beļcova did not entirely abandon the stylised form – around the same time she produced exquisite ceramics that combined various influences. In 1924, Beļcova, Suta, and Sigismunds Vidbergs opened a highly successful porcelain painting workshop – the Baltars workshop. The workshop received great acclaim both nationally and internationally. Most notably, Baltars ceramics received gold and bronze medals at the 1925 Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. Although the venture was rather short-lived – the workshop closed in 1928 – more than 300 pieces were produced. Like a lot of Latvian interwar art and design, the Baltars artists strived to merge the national with the international. Beļcova’s striking stylised compositions evidence cubist and Art Deco influences, and many of them feature scenes from everyday modern life, such as going to the hairdresser and attending concerts. However, she also produced wares that depicted scenes from Latvian and Slavic folk art, such as peasant weddings, Christian religious motifs, and primitivist designs of African masks.

Aleksandra Beļcova, Self-Portrait, 1923, oil on canvas. Source: https://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/aleksandra-belcova/.

 Beļcova continued to paint portraits and urban scenes in an increasingly realistic, intimist style until 1940s, when her artistic production underwent a dramatic shift. Following Nazi Germany’s occupation of Latvia, in 1940-41 Beļcova produced sketch drawings of scenes she witnessed in the Riga ghetto. The deeply emotional drawings showcase the abhorrent treatment of Jews. In 1944 Latvia was occupied by Soviet Russia, which caused another shift in the artist’s style. Like other modernists, Beļcova was forced to abandon her avant-garde compositions in favour of Socialist Realism, and her artistic production slowed significantly.

Despite the challenges, Beļcova is now widely recognised for her impact on Latvian modernism and the budding art scene of interwar period Latvia. It is impossible to succinctly summarise her contribution due to the wide range of her artistic production. What is evident, however, is that Beļcova was anything but stagnant – her art quickly evolved with the artistic developments across Europe, and she displayed proficiency in a number of mediums, from oil and pastels to porcelain. Like many of her works, Beļcova was strikingly modern – both in positive and negative ways. Some of her artistic production is undoubtedly problematic, but it nevertheless reflects the zeitgeist of 1920s Europe.

Notes

Fauchereau, Serge. Art of the Baltic States. Modernism, Freedom and Identity 1900-1950. London: Thames & Hudson, 2022.

Jankevičiūtė, Giedrė. "CHAPTER 4: Art as a Narrative of Everyday Life in Lithuania during World War II" In The Art of Identity and Memory: Toward a Cultural History of the Two World Wars in Lithuania edited by Giedrė Jankevičiūtė and Rasutė Žukienė, 85-138. Boston, USA: Academic Studies Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781618115089-006.

Jevsejeva, Natalija, and AWARE Women artists / Femmes artistes. ‘Aleksandra Beļcova’. https://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/aleksandra-belcova/.

Kukaine, Jana. ‘Aleksandra Beļcova (1892–1981): On Course for a Virtual Feminist Museum’, 22 December 2021.

Pushaw, Bart, and Deep Baltic. ‘Baltic Artists Brought the World Home – But at What Cost?’, 2 March 2017. https://deepbaltic.com/2017/03/02/baltic-artists-brought-the-world-home-but-at-what-cost/.

Vanaga, Baiba. “First Modernist Women Artists in Latvia and Their Paths into the International Art Scene.” In Marianne Werefkin and the Women Artists in Her Circle, edited by Tanja Malycheva and Isabel Wünsche, 221–36. Brill, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctt1w8h0q1.22.