Chinese graphics and paintings in the Latvian National Museum of Art

Ukrainian: Китайські графіка і живопис у Латвійському національному художньому музеї

Latvian: Ķīnas grafika un glezniecība Latvijas Nacionālā mākslas muzeja kolekcijā

----

The Chinese graphics and painting collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art started to form during the 19th century with the works from Baltic-German collections and continued to develop throughout the years. Now it consists of around 350 items of various provenance, such as the collections of Latvians living in China and of Soviet Union institutions. The objects include traditional paintings and woodblock prints, as well as pith paper paintings and some other images heavily influenced by the European visual culture of the times and presumably intended for a European audience.The collection has previously never been studied in its whole, except for some of the nianhua 年画 folk woodblock prints and a few paintings. A four-month research was carried out by:

Marta Logvyn, a leading research fellow of The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art (Kyiv, Ukraine),

&

Kristine Milere, the exhibition curator and main Asian art collection researcher and research project manager at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE (the Foreign Art Department of the Latvian National Museum of Art).

The research was funded by the ICOM support grant for Ukrainian museum professionals.

The speakers will start with an overview of the collection history and proceed to illustrate the quality of the collection and its comparison to the Chinese collection at The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Ukraine. Cultural and historical phenomena reflected in the Latvian National Museum of Art collection are intricate and fascinating; they raise new questions to researchers. The presentation will be followed by a roundtable discussion on how this research can move forward and on the main issues that emerge while pursuing such research in the context of this specific region.

Picture 1: Unknown artist. Wei Tuo. Based on the fresco from the Fahai Temple dated to the Ming Dynasty. C. 1912 (?). Silk, watercolour. 176,3 x 94,4 cm. Donation from Ernests Strēlnieks in 1920. Photography taken in 1921.

Picture 2: View from the exhibition “Our Museum. The State Museum of Art – 100”. 2020. Photographer: Agnese Tauriņa.

Picture 3: Detail of a photo from the display of the State Museum of Art. 1941.Photographer: Eduards Melbārdis (?). LNMA Scientific Document Centre

Kristine Milere, the exhibition curator and main Asian art collection researcher and research project manager at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE (the Foreign Art Department of the Latvian National Museum of Art).

Marta Logvyn, a leading research fellow of The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art (Kyiv, Ukraine).