Jānis Pujāts (; 18 October 1925 – 19 July 1988) was a Latgalian

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, known for the popularization of

Latgalian pottery Latgalian pottery (, ) or Latgalian ceramics (''Latgolys keramika'', ''Latgales keramika''), also known as Silajāņi ceramics is the best-known subset of Latvian pottery. The region of Latgale historically has been the most prolific producer of ...

in the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

years. Author of books about Latgalian pottery.

Biography

Pujāts was born on 18 October 1925 in Gaigalava Parish (present-day

Rēzekne Municipality Rēzekne Municipality () is a municipality in Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Audriņi parish, Bērzgale parish, Čornaja parish, Dricāni parish, Feimaņi parish, Gaigalava parish, Griškāni par ...

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. By his contemporaries, he is called ''the Godather of Latgalian ceramics'' for his efforts in the popularization of Latgalian pottery in the

period. In the 50's, Pujāts started to travel around the Latgale and collect the information about local ceramicists for his publications. He organized

exhibitions An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

and outside its borders that showcased the works of Latgalian potters such as

Andrejs Paulāns Andrejs Paulāns-Kraskevičs ( Latgalian: Andrivs Povulāns-Kraskevičs, 30 November 1896 – 29 November 1973) was a Latvian and Latgalian ceramicist. He is regarded as one of the greatest Latgalian ceramicists. In 1937, Paulāns was awarded ...

Polikarps Vilcāns Polikarps Vilcāns (26 January 1894 – 8 May 1969) was a Latvian and Latgale, Latgalian Ceramic art, ceramicist. One of the most renowned Latgalian ceramics, Latgalian ceramicists. In 1937, Vilcāns was awarded with a Gold Medal at the Exposition ...

, Polikarps Čerņavskis, Antons Ušpelis and others. Pujāts died in

Rīga 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 ...

on 19 July 1988, at the age of 62.

References

1925 births 1988 deaths People from Rēzekne Municipality 20th-century Latvian historians Latvian art historians Latgalians (modern) 20th-century Latvian educators {{Latvia-historian-stub