The monograph by Dr.art. Jānis Kalnačs is a captivating and comprehensive story
about the life and works of the most stylish and challenging artist of 1930s Riga
Kārlis Padegs. Being an outcome of more than 30 years of meticulous research
the book includes a detailed life story of the artist, history of the development
of the collection of works by Kārlis Padegs at the Latvian National Museum of
Art, descriptions of lost works and works in private collections, recollections
about the artists activities at Lūcija Kreicbergas photographic studio, his work in
book illustration, portrait photographs of Kārlis Padegs, analysis of his art in the
context of Latvian and European art of the time. The author of the monograph
has tried to unravel the conventional and superficial albeit glamorous legend
consciously shaped by Kārlis Padegs himself, by revealing his contradictory
personality through documents and recollections of the artists contemporaries.
The author has made use of all the materials about Kārlis Padegs collected
during the decades of research, including the unpublished diaries by Margarita
Kovaļevska, recollections by Erna Geistaute as well as materials from Latvian
state archives and depositories as well as private archives. The book comprises
more than 400 illustrations, among them dozens of Kārlis Padegs photographic
portraits which can be regarded as predecessors of happenings in Latvian culture,
and the artists works paintings, drawings and sketches, including many works,
recently found in private collections in Latvia and abroad, that have not been
published before.
The book is supplemented with a summary in English. |
