Biography
Jānis Rikmanis, born on April 5, 1901, in Riga. The artist comes from a family of workers, so becoming an artist was not easy. Despite the difficulties, he enrolled on the Art Academy of Latvia and studied at the Figural Painting Workshop.[1] He graduated from the Academy in 1931 with the thesis “Boys by the River”. The supervisor of the artist’s thesis was Jānis Roberts Tillbergs[2], who probably laid the stylistic basis for the artist's creative expressions.
After graduating from the Academy, artist travelled around Europe and drew inspiration from European museum repositories and other art collections.[3]
Rikmanis started participating in exhibitions even before graduating from the Academy in 1929. There have been several solo exhibitions in Riga – the most significant ones in 1942 and 1964. He is a member of the Artists’ Union since 1944. He worked in the artists unions “Radigars” and “Rosme” and was a member of the Latvian Society of Fine Arts.[4]
The artist worked as a teacher at the Drawing Department of the Art Academy of Latvia from 1945 to 1950.[5]
Rikmanis and his wife Milda have two children, artist Māra Rikmane and writer Otomārs Rikmanis. [6]
Artist passed away in 1968 and rests on the Artists’ Hill in Meža Cementery.
Artistic Description
Rikmanis has diligently learned and practiced from other artists, acquiring skills in depicting strength, gravity and other notions, especially influenced by Belgian artists. There is no frivolity in the artist’s work. They are profound.[7]
The artist has painted in different genres: landscape, portrait, figural genre.[8] The most expressive ones are the psychological portraits, which subtly depict the nuances of people’s personalities, as well as the romantic landscapes of Latvia.[9] It should be noted that the artist's greatest talent is revealed in portraits, especially those made in the 1930s, during the most fruitful stage of the artist's life. He painted portraits of ordinary people – postmen, fishermen.[10] The landscapes are much quieter and less noticeable. Artist has depicted Latvian nature in landscapes with great admiration towards it.[11] In contrast, portraits give different, slight difficult to define creative edge that captivates the viewer.[12]
Mostly, the artist painted in warm earth tones – dark brown, beige clay and gray-purple.[13] His favourite shades are light ochre, English red, Sienna, “Van Deik’s brown”, bone black, cobalt.[14] The loose and soft, sometimes seemingly dry stroke creates a sense of spatiality.[15] Artist mainly painted in oil technique.
The artist’s acquaintances describe him as a quiet and introverted personality, which is reflected in the artist’s peaceful landscapes.[16] Many of the artist’s works are covered with a gray veil, which soothes them, makes them elegiac and close to ground. The artist avoids sweetness in his paintings.[17]
Interesting facts
The artist has gathered his thoughts and feelings throughout all his life by writing a diary.[18]
In a retrospection, it can be seen that, like many other artists of the time, the life of Rikmanis was influenced by the horrors of war, which prevented the talent from flowing smoothly. It seems that the artist would have had much more to say, but the regime of that time suppressed it. Especially after the war, when he turned to figural and historical painting.[19]
The artist's greatest passion was horses, when depicting them, the stroke turned into confident and energetic one. Horses are painted as very powerful creatures – with the rigid, confident brush stroke their liveliness radiates from the canvas. Longing for movement and breakout can be read from the artist's horse paintings.[20]
The artist’s biggest idol was painter Johans Valters with his wide range of colours. [21]
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[1] Literatūra un Māksla, Nr. 13., 1968.
[2] Laikmets, Nr. 48, 1942.
[3] Laikmets, Nr. 48, 1942.
[4] Māksla un Arhitektūra biografijās. Rīga: Latvijas enciklopēdija, 1996
[5] Rīgas Balss Nr. 74, 1968.
[6] https://www.literatura.lv/lv/person/Otomars-Rikmanis/872578
[7] Latvju Mēnešraksts 1943. Nr. 8
[8] Laikmets, Nr. 48, 1942.
[9] Literatūra un Māksla, Nr. 13., 1968.
[10] Literatūra un Māksla, Nr. 14., 1961.
[11] Literatūra un Māksla, Nr. 14., 1961.
[12] Latvju Mēnešraksts 1943. Nr. 8
[13] Laikmets, Nr. 48, 1942.
[14] Māksla Nr. 3, 1976.
[15] Latvju Mēnešraksts 1943. Nr. 8
[16] Laiks, Nr. 17, 2003.
[17] Latvju Mēnešraksts 1943. Nr. 8
[18] Māksla Nr. 3, 1976.
[19] Literatūra un Māksla, Nr. 14., 1961.
[20] Laiks, Nr. 17, 2003.
[21] Māksla Nr. 3, 1976.
