Gustavs Šķilters (15 November 1874 – 24 September 1954) was a Latvian artist, working mainly as a sculptor.

Biography

Gustavs Šķilters was born in present-day Rencēni Parish, the son of a blacksmith, and trained to become an artist in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He graduated in 1899 and with the aid of a scholarship spent the following six years abroad. He traveled to Germany and spent much time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he was influenced by the flowering of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and studied sculpture under Paul Richer and . He also frequented the atelier of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

, often together with his compatriots Teodors Zaļkalns and Burkards Dzenis. After his return to Saint Petersburg in 1905, he took up teaching sculpture at the present-day Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy, a position he would hold for the next thirteen years except for a short spell working for jeweler

Peter Carl Fabergé Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé (; – 24 September 1920; also known as Charles Fabergé) was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and ...

. Following the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

, Šķilters moved to Riga and took up the newly created position of professor at the Art Academy of Latvia in 1923. Gustavs Šķilters worked mainly as a sculptor. Several of his works exist only as plaster models, an effect of there not being any professional

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in Latvia during the time in which he was active. His art displays influences, early on, from Art Nouveau and

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

. He was also active as an art critic. Šķilters died in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

in 1954, aged 79, and was buried at Forest Cemetery, Riga.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skilters, Gustavs 1874 births 1954 deaths People from Valmiera Municipality People from Valmiera county Latvian sculptors 20th-century Latvian painters Latvian male painters Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga Artists from the Russian Empire