Ludolfs Liberts (1895-1959). The Hypnotic Brilliance of Art Deco
From 29 November 2024 to 16 March 2025, the Romans Suta and Aleksandra Beļcova Museum in Riga (Elizabetes iela 57a, Apt. 26) presents the exhibition Ludolfs Liberts (1895-1959). The Hypnotic Brilliance of Art Deco.
Ludolfs Liberts is one of the brightest exponents of art deco in Latvia and its most vivid manifestation is his stage designs. Without exaggeration it may be said that the 1920s-30s at the Latvian National Opera were the era of Liberts. Between 1924 and 1937, altogether he designed 43 and directed 12 productions. Liberts set the tone, influenced his colleagues and was at the centre of attention from critics and spectators alike. His stage designs left no one indifferent: many were thrilled and applauded the set designs, others criticised and attacked him for overgeneralisation, flamboyance and excessive decorativeness. Yet, from today's perspective, it is clear that all of Liberts' accomplishments in this field conform entirely to the style of art deco, which is characterised by an inclination towards geometricisation and ornamentalisation of forms, decorativeness, refined graphic qualities, a tendency to enchant and dazzle the viewer. Liberts possessed a phenomenal ability to sense current artistic trends, his sketches for stage designs and costumes show motifs favoured by the artists of art deco – skyscrapers, the cascading rhythms of fountains, zigzags and other geometric ornaments. Liberts turned to the heritage of non-European cultures, responded to the widespread Egyptomania and referred to the general fascination with the cinematograph, which influenced theatre and the leading directors of the time.
Ludolfs Liberts is one of the few modernists outside of the Riga Artists Group. Despite being in close contact with members of the legendary association and having taken part in a number of shared projects (drawing caricatures for the magazine Ho-Ho, decoration of the walls of café Sukub), he never became a full member of the group. The style of his paintings from the 1920s stands apart from the work of his contemporaries. His application of modernist principles suggests an original interpretation of French modern art and Russian Cubo-Futurism. In the 1930s, like many Latvian artists of the time, Liberts also took an active interest in the distant past, freely engaging in fantasies about historical subjects and images. Liberts' numerous cityscapes largely reflect his work in theatre – the artist frequently painted a variety of lighting effects, streets in nightly illumination. In their colour schemes and compositional structure these works to some extent resemble theatre backdrops.
Liberts' biography is similar to that of other Latvian artists of his generation – he was born in the province, began his art studies in Riga and continued them in Russia (Moscow and Kazan), during World War I found himself at the front. In the 1920s-30s he worked actively in his native land and regularly participated in exhibitions abroad, while towards the end of World War II he was forced to emigrate and spent the rest of his life in the USA. He is among the few Latvian artists to have managed to hold personal exhibitions in Paris (1927), Brussels (1929), Berlin (1930, 1938), Stockholm (1938) and Copenhagen (1938). Liberts also participated in international stage design exhibitions, where his works often received awards. The artist's sketches for theatre, opera and ballet productions are held not only in the depositories of memory institutions in Latvia but also several museums and collections abroad.
This exhibition is the artist's first retrospective of such magnitude. Most of the works go on public display for the first time. The exhibition presents works from the Latvian National Museum of Art, Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum, Latvian National Museum of Literature and Music, Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation, Gulbene Municipality History and Art Museum, Latvian National Opera, Rietumu Bank, Zuzāns Collection and other private collections.
Curator Dr. art. Natalya Yevseyeva
