HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Voldemārs Irbe (13 November 1893 – 10 October 1944) was a
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 ...
n
pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...
painter, active 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 ...
throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Though he was well known for his odd behavior and disheveled appearance, leading him to be nicknamed "Barefoot Irbīte", Irbe's work was acclaimed by the Latvian art world both during and after his lifetime.


Life

In 1893, Irbe was born to a highly religious family in the Beļava Parish of Latvia's
Valka district Valka district () was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. The district's area was 2441 km2. The population was 31,314 inhabitants in 2008. The district contained 4 towns and 17 parish ...
. After his family moved 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 ...
in 1904, Irbe enrolled in school, but he performed poorly and only showed interest in theology. Irbe's brother Jacob, noting Irbe's poor scholastic performance and interest in art, encouraged him to enroll in an art school instead. Consequently, Irbe entered the Drawing and Painting School at the Riga Decorative Painters' Art Society. Irbe took to art much more than he had to traditional schooling, and after his graduation he began working in the studio of . After the 1915 suicide of his father, Irbe took up employment at a local
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
monastery. The monastery was subsequently evacuated to the interior of Russia to avoid the dangers of
World War I 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 ...
; Irbe accompanied them during these travels, which led him to see the cities of
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
and
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Impressed by the art he saw in those cities, Irbe next attempted to travel to
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. However, this venture was unsuccessful, and he ultimately decided to return to Riga in 1919. Irbe was summoned for military service, but due to his personal convictions against violence, he was unwilling to serve; consequently, he declared himself "an idiot" so that he could be found mentally unfit for the army. Instead, Irbe pursued employment as an art teacher. He made three attempts to pursue a teaching career, but each proved unsuccessful due to his eccentric behavior and habitually shabby clothing. After giving up on teaching, Irbe began to make a living by selling art. Most of the works he sold were very small pieces, as little as 3 × 4 cm, which Irbe could create quickly and sell for small amounts of money. Irbe also held private exhibitions of his art in the 1920s, which took place at his personal workshop. These exhibitions eventually earned Irbe some attention: in 1929 the Riga City Art Museum (today the
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 ...
) bought more than 50 of his works. In addition to his art, Irbe was interested in sharing his philosophical views, which he did through public lectures and short books. However, Irbe's low level of education prevented him from expressing his views lucidly, and so he never achieved much note in this field. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Riga was frequently bombed; Irbe was killed in one such bombing in 1944. A statue of Irbe was later erected near the site of his death.


Personality

Irbe was renowned for his eccentricity. He wore dirty, ragged clothing and purportedly only bathed once a year. He also traveled barefoot everywhere, and claimed that he could paint a complete piece while standing on one foot. Because of his dirty condition, the Riga police once forcibly washed Irbe and cut his hair and beard; when this occurred, Irbe was already a well-known figure in the city, and so the "forced washing" incident was reported in Latvian newspapers. Irbe was devoutly religious, and was also interested in philosophy. He frequently shared his opinions at lectures and public debates, and even held philosophical lectures of his own. Irbe was also a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
and a
teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...
who lived a simple lifestyle.


Artistic style

Irbe was best acclaimed for his
pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...
work. Described as "the first serious master of pastel painting in Latvian art", he was praised for his vibrant use of color and bold brushwork. He was known for the speed of his work, which sometimes led him to be criticized for carelessness; however, Irbe was widely praised by his fellow artists, including
Vilhelms Purvītis Vilhelms Purvītis (3 March 1872 – 14 January 1945) was a landscape painter 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 Munici ...
, Jūlijs Madernieks, and Kārlis Neilis.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irbe, Voldemārs Pastel artists 20th-century Latvian painters 20th-century Latvian male artists Latvian male painters 1893 births 1944 deaths People from Gulbene Municipality Artists from Riga Civilians killed in World War II Deaths by Soviet airstrikes during World War II