Uga Skulme (20 May 1895 – 6 November 1963) was a

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 ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Skulme was born in Jēkabpils, Courland Governorate, one of ten children. He studied at the Faculty of Law, the St. Petersburg University, in Russia, and the School of Imperial Society for the Fostering of Art (between 1913 and 1914), the Architecture Department at the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts (1914 - 1916) and the Painting Department under K. Petrov-Vodkin. Stylistically he was a Cubist and has been compared to

Aleksandra Belcova Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "pro ...

for his use of the static form, cool range of colours, thin layer of paint and a sheen close to the metal surface with the accent on drawing. Skulme was drafted into the army during World War I and then returned to Russia as an art teacher. He returned to Latvia in 1920. Skulme was a member of the Riga Artists Group between 1921 and 1939 and head of the drawing studio at the Rīga People's High School between 1924 and 1927 and a private art studio between 1923 and 1927. He was a professor at the Latvian State Academy of Arts in 1941 and again between 1945 and 1963. In addition to this he was a contributor to the ''Daugava'' magazine and the editorial staff member of the Latvian Encyclopedia between 1928 and 1940. One of Skulme's brothers was Otto Skulme, the theatre reformer.

References

1895 births 1963 deaths People from Jēkabpils People from Courland Governorate Soviet painters 20th-century Latvian painters {{Latvia-painter-stub