Vilhelms Purvītis (3 March 1872 – 14 January 1945) was a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and educator who founded the Latvian Academy of Art and was its rector from 1919 to 1934.

Biography

Vilhems Purvītis was born in Zaube Parish (now Cēsis Municipality), Kreis Riga, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

in a family of a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

. He studied in a local parish school until his family moved to

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...

. Until 1888 Purvītis studied in a municipal school in Drissa (Today:

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

) where his drawing skills were noticed for the first time. When his family returned to

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

Purvītis worked in his father's mill in Smiltene parish for two years. In 1890 Purvītis started studies at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, Russia from 1890 to 1897, primarily under Arkhip Kuindzhi, graduating with the Grand Gold Medal. While in the academy he studied paintings of old Dutch masters and became close friends with two other Latvian painters- Janis Rozentāls and Johan Valter. In 1898, Purvītis, Rozentāls, and Valter took a study trip across Europe, and his paintings were exhibited in Berlin, Munich, Paris, and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

to great acclaim. In 1899 he returned to

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 ...

and started to give private lessons in painting. In 1902 he traveled to

Spitzbergen Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast o ...

in Norway to study the painting of snow. After the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

Purvītis traveled to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

where he worked as a drawing teacher in a local

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

. In 1909 Purvītis returned to Riga and became director of a

Riga city art school 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 ...

. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

started in 1915, Riga city art school was evacuated to St. Petersburg where it was closed in 1916. After the Russian revolutions of 1917 Purvītis went to Norway to improve his health and held his first solo exhibition in Oslo. Latvian Art Academy 1942

In 1918 Purvītis returned to German-occupied Riga. In 1919 he became director of a Riga city art museum (Today:

Latvian National Museum of Art The Latvian National Museum of Art () is an art museum in Riga, Latvia. It contains the largest collection of national art in Latvia. The museum houses more than 65,000 works of art reflecting the development of professional art in the Baltic a ...

) and also was one of the founders of the

Art Academy of Latvia The Art Academy of Latvia () is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to the National Museum of Art. In aut ...

and was elected as its first rector. As the leader of the landscape painting workshop at the Latvian Academy of Art from 1921 to 1944, of visual arts in the architecture department at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

from 1919 to 1940, and director of the Riga City Art School from 1909 to 1915, Purvītis had a host of followers and was the acknowledged leader of a whole school of Latvian painting. During the period of the

Republic of 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 ...

Purvītis also organized many exhibitions of Latvian art in Europe. After the

Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed i ...

Purvītis was dismissed from the post of museum director but continued to work in the Art Academy. In 1942 his last exhibition in Riga was held. In 1944 Purvītis lost all of his belongings and many of his works when his house and workshop were destroyed during the Battle of

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

in the summer of 1944. Purvītis was forced to evacuate to

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

and from there to Danzig. Wilhelms Purvītis died on 14 January 1945 in

Bad Nauheim Bad Nauheim () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. As of 2020, Bad Nauheim has a population of 32,493. The town is approximately north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a w ...

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

. Purvītis' remains were reinterred at the

Riga Forest Cemetery Forest Cemetery () is an large cemetery in the northwestern part of Riga, the capital of Latvia, between the neighbourhoods of Mežaparks and Čiekurkalns. Formally, the cemetery is divided between 1st Forest Cemetery, with entrance from Aizsau ...

in 1994 after Latvia regained its independence. He was awarded the

Order of three stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

(III and II class) and many more decorations. Constantly experimenting and becoming a master of snow scenes, Purvītis began as a Realist painter, turned to

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, and was later influenced by Cézanne and Munch. His painting ''

Winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

'' (1910) also suggests the influence 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 ...

. He is considered one of the greatest Latvian painters during the first half of the 20th century. His landscapes are full of local motives and Latvian nature is portrayed in the neo-romantic atmosphere. During his lifetime he produced more than a thousand paintings and drawings and many of them were never exhibited because he preferred to collect them in his apartment. File:Purvitis Agrs pavasaris.jpg, ''Early Spring'' (1898-1899) File:Purvitis Rudens saule.jpg, ''Autumn Sun'' (1909) File:Vilhelms Purvītis - Winter - Google Art Project.jpg, ''

'' (1910) Vilhelms Purvītis - Spring Waters (Maestoso) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Spring Waters'' (1910) File:Purvitis Ainava ar berziem.jpg, ''Landscape with Birch trees'' (1910) File:Vilhelms Purvītis - Pavasaris.JPG, ''Pavasaris'' (1930)

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Purvitis, Vilhelms 1872 births 1945 deaths People from Cēsis Municipality People from Riga county 20th-century Latvian painters Latvian male painters Rectors of universities in Latvia Academic staff of the University of Latvia Recipients of the Cross of Recognition Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Latvian World War II refugees Latvian emigrants to Germany Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga Painters from the Russian Empire