Belgium and Latvia: A shared interest in contemporary art

Two exhibitions and a book are currently drawing attention to the close ties between the Latvian and Belgian art worlds in the 1920s and 1930s – relationships that seemed almost forgotten, at least here, due to the Second World War and the decades of Soviet occupation. Fortunately, Latvia regained its independence and its place in the European Union, to take the reins of the Council of the European Union in 2015. The old Hanseatic town of Riga, for its part, has become a truly European city – the European Capital of Culture in 2014.

In 1932, the Belgian authorities donated a collection of Belgian art, including 53 paintings, 111 drawings on paper, a series of sculptures, medals and lace to the Latvian National Museum of Arts in Riga. The donation, which was greatly influenced by the close relationship between the Latvian ambassador, Janis Lazdins, and Paul Lambotte, Belgian Commissioner General, followed shortly after a major exhibition of Belgian art (331 works) in Latvia and in Sweden, on the occasion of which the Riga museum had bought works of Valerius de Saedeleer, Isidore Opsomer and Georges Minne. Belgian artists like Saverys, Buisseret (a magnificent portrait of Anto Carte, featured at La Louvière), Opsomer, Masui, Léon Navez, Anto Carte, Laermans, Rodolphe Strebelle, Alfred Delaunois, Jean Laudy, Pierre Paulus, Taf Wallet, Rassenfosse, etc. had all donated works to support the initiative.

Read the full article here