Biography
Aleksandrs Zviedris was born on June 4, 1905, in Tallinn, where his father Kārlis Zviedris worked as a ship mechanic at the Volta factory. As a child, he spent a lot of time in Tukums with his grandfather, who was a sailor on sailing ships.[1] The painter spent the first years of his life, in Riga, but then moved with his family to Moscow, where from 1914 to 1921 he studied at the Zemstes school and later attended a commercial school. While studying at a commercial school, he focused on drawing and woodworking. Painter starts attending artist’s Jānis Niedrīte classes, who was working in Arkhangelsk, northern Russia, at the time. In 1921, after returning to Riga, the artist worked in the port of Riga, at the same time studying at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Languages.[2]
The artist himself always emphasized that his love for the sea was given by the family. This is confirmed by the fact that he worked as a captain from a young age.[3] The musicality was inherited from his mother Alvīne, who sang in the choir and performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Artist and his brother both played violins.[4] Since the brother did not have his own violin, and it was expensive to buy a new one, using the knowledge of wood-working acquired at the commercial school, the artist started to acquire the skills of making violins. In 1926 he made his first violin. [5]
When working as a captain on the ship, he had the opportunity to travel. The young man often visited the museums in Moscow and the Tretyakov Gallery, which encouraged him to focus on art. Seeking to see the European art, Aleksandrs Zviedris bought yacht “Murka” and rebuilt it. In the same year, he travelled to Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark on his own rebuilt yacht, visiting many different art repositories there. Already the next year he started touring Europe – Great Britain, France, Holland and Germany, continuing to study museums there.[6]
At the age of thirty, in 1934, he started attending drawing courses at the Art Academy of Latvia, and in 1938 he attended the studio of professor and painter J. R. Tillbergs under the guidance of K. Brencēns. Aleksandrs Zviedris has been a member of the Latvian Artists’ Union since 1945.[7]
In 1944, together with his companions, he founded the yacht club “Daugava”[8] and won the title of Latvian SSR champion in sailing seven times [9]
The artist lives a long and beautiful life, passing at the age of 89, in 1993.
Artistic Description
Not only Aleksandrs Zviedris’ occupation and hobbies showed his love for the sea, but also his artistic expressions. Touring Scandinavia by yacht becomes the main source of inspiration throughout his creative work – Zviedris is one of the most productive and popular Latvian marine painters.[10] The artist depicted the sea in different weather conditions. He saw it changing – calm and raging, as he measured several thousand kilometres along it. He has worked in oil and watercolour techniques.[11]
In the 1920s, he travelled around Latvia by bicycle, painting the port of Riga, the views of the Gauja River and the landscapes of Latgale. The artist has painted port views in accordance with the requirements of the industrial landscape of socialist realism, and has also worked in the genres of landscape, portrait and sea battalia. The artist depicts local landscapes with an epic scope.[12]
He has organized about 50 solo exhibitions – in Riga, Tukums, Ventspils, Jurmala, Liepaja and other Latvian cities, participated in group exhibitions in Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and Tomsk. The artist managed art studios in Tukums, Valmiera and Riga. The artist’s works have been exhibited in domestic and foreign exhibitions – in Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Sweden, Austria, Lebanon, USA, Austria, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Chile and Egypt.[13]
Interesting Facts
As a child, Aleksands Zviedris learned to play mandolin.[14]
The artist had to learn several languages in order to read a wider range of literature on violin making. Not only craftsmanship and language skills, but also knowledge of chemistry to make a good varnish have been useful in making violins.[15] Also he travelled the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on creative trips. On the creative trip to the Centro-Asian republic, the artist found inspiration for his glorious landscapes. In total, the artist has painted more than 4000 paintings and made more than 114 violins.[16]
In the vicinity of Tukums, Zviedrs built his house with a workshop and an art gallery, where he made furniture and picture frames.[17]
The painter once said that without sailing, he would not be a painter. In the paintings of Zviedris, the most important thing is vivid expression, which he himself formulated as follows: “In my life I have strived for movement (..) The most exciting of all movements is the yacht race in the strong wind.”[18]
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Main sources:
Aleksandrs Zviedris: gleznotājs un vijoļmeistars / Sast. Ē. Strods. - Rīga, 1995.–96 lpp.
Aleksandra Zviedra darbu izstāde: katalogs.–Rīga, 1985.–22 lpp.
Aleksandrs Zviedris: reprodukciju albums.–Rīga, 1965.–60 lpp.
Aleksandra Zviedra trīs mūzas // A. Oša. Sarunas ar māksliniekiem.–R., 1987.–83.–88. lpp.
[1] Akadēmiskā dzīve Nr. 41, 2002.
[2] Māksla un arhitektūra biogrāfijās. Rīga, 2003, 4. daļa, 156.lpp., Zeile P. Aleksandrs Zviedris. Gleznotājs un vijoļmeistars. Rīga, 1995.
[3] Liesma (Valmiera), Nr. 41, 1972.
[4] Akadēmiskā dzīve Nr. 41, 2002.
[5] Rīgas Balss, Nr. 190, 1966.
[6] Latvijas Nacionālais Arhīvs,
https://www.facebook.com/LNarhivs/posts/3023916827691805/
[7] Māksla un arhitektūra biogrāfijās. Rīga, 2003, 4. daļa, 156.lpp., Zeile P. Aleksandrs Zviedris. Gleznotājs un vijoļmeistars. Rīga, 1995.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Mākslas muzejā Tukumā notiks gleznotāja Aleksandra Zviedra atceres pasākums
http://www.easyget.lv/kultura/read/26090/
[10] Liesma (Valmiera), Nr. 57, 1972.
[11] Rīgas Balss, Nr. 190, 1966.
[12] Māksla un arhitektūra biogrāfijās. Rīga, 2003, 4. daļa, 156.lpp., Zeile P. Aleksandrs Zviedris. Gleznotājs un vijoļmeistars. Rīga, 1995.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Akadēmiskā dzīve Nr. 41, 2002.
[15] Liesma (Valmiera), Nr. 41, 1972.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Akadēmiskā dzīve Nr. 41, 2002.
[18] Mākslas muzejā Tukumā notiks gleznotāja Aleksandra Zviedra atceres pasākums
