Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš (August 25, 1877 in

Nereta Nereta ( lt, Neretos; german: Nerft) is a village in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. Neretaat GeoNames updated 27/07/2014 The village is located 4 km from the border with Lithuania, on the Dienvidsusēja rive ...

– August 25, 1962 in Körbecke) was a Latvian writer and painter and one of the most popular authors of the first Republic of Latvia between the two world wars. Jaunsudrabins0001

Biography

Between 1886–1892 he attended school in Nereta. Thereafter from 1892 until 1893 Jānis went to

Panemunis Panemunis ( pl, Poniemuń) is a small town in Panevėžys County, in northeastern Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europ ...

in a russian school. He studied at the Vecsaté Agricultural School from 1895 to 1897. In 1896 he published the first short story, "Winter Night", in the Latvian Aviation Newspaper. From 1898 on he worked as an agricultural specialist in Remte, but was attracted to art later. From 1899 to 1903 he studied at Blum School of Painting in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. In 1905 he had three months of training in Munich, Germany. Three years after he lived and studied art with his family for one year in Berlin, with his teacher Lovis Corinth. Thereafter he returned and lived in Milgravis from 1913. From 1915 to 1918 he lived in the Caucasus. On his return he engaged in painting and writing. In 1924 he traveled Europe with a grant from the Cultural Foundation. In 1937 he got divorced from his wife Sabile Ilūkste. In 1944 he was retreated to the west.

Works

He painted landscapes, portraits, illustrated books (including his own), wrote articles on art, including on

M. K. Čiurlionis ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respect ...

. The story "The Frosty Rings" reveals the love drama of two young people. The experience of childhood is reflected in the "White Paper", "Green Paper", and other collections. The prose has a strong tradition of psychological realism and neo-romanticism. The works subtly convey the spiritual experiences of the characters, despite the life of various strata of rural Latvia, emphasize human connection with nature, continuation of national traditions; Latvian motives abound. He has written pictures, short stories and poems, plays, books on Latvian emigration, and descriptions of Latvians in various countries. His work was translated into Lithuanian language by

Kristijonas Donelaitis Kristijonas Donelaitis ( la, Christian Donalitius; 1 January 1714 – 18 February 1780) was a Prussian Lithuanian poet and Lutheran pastor. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable Lithuani ...

Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis (; 1852–1916) was a Lithuanian playwright and activists of the early Lithuanian amateur theater. Born to an old noble family, Landsbergis attended Šiauliai Gymnasium where his friend Petras Vileišis encour ...

, and .

Legacy

In 1965 ''Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš Prose Prize'' ( lv, Jāņa Jaunsudrabiņa prozas balva) was created.JĀŅA JAUNSUDRABIŅA BALVAS FONDA STATŪTI
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Bibliography

* Frosty Rings ('' lv, Veja ziedi ''), 1907 * White Paper ('' lv, Balta grāmata''), 1914 * Green Paper ('' lv, Zaļa grāmata ''), 2 d. 1950 – 1951, * Aija ('' lv, Aija ''), 1911, Echo ('' lv, Atbalss''), 1914–1915, Winter ('' lv, Ziema''), 1925 trilogy * Dance of Death ('' lv, Nāves deja''), novel, 1924 * The Newcomer and the Devil ('' lv, Jaunsaimnieks un velns''), novel, 1933 * Don't Look at the Sun ( lv, Neskaties saule), novel, 1936 * Capri ('' lv, Kapri''), novel, 1939 * Money ('' lv, Nauda''), novel, 1942 * Uršulytė ('' lv, Uršulīte''), short story, 1929 * Without Homeland ('' lv, Bez dzimtenes''), 1947 * I tell my wife ('' lv, Es stāstu savai sievai''), 1951 * My Life ('' lv, Mana dzīve''), 1957

References

1877 births 1962 deaths Latvian writers Latvian painters {{Europe-writer-stub