Born on March 3, 1872, in the village of Zaube, Vilhelms Kārlis Purvītis emerged from humble beginnings to become one of Latvia’s most celebrated cultural figures. His early life in a miller’s family fostered a deep intimacy with the countryside—a connection that would later blossom into an entire genre of Latvian landscape painting. Recognized early for his drawing talent, he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1890, studying under luminaries such as Arhip Kuindzhi. While there, he absorbed the techniques of European masters and forged friendships with fellow Latvian artists like Janis Rozentāls and Johann Walter, paving the way for a cohesive Latvian artistic identity.

Riga joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2019 as a City of Literature—a designation that reflects its rich multilingual literary tradition and its living literary ecosystem. From the poetry of Aspazija to the urban prose of modern-day authors writing in Latvian, Russian, and beyond, Riga has always been a city shaped by language. What makes its literary life remarkable is not just the quality of writing, but the visibility of literature in the public sphere. Sidewalk poetry, book fairs, spoken word festivals, and international translation projects form a dense cultural fabric where literature is not confined to bookshelves—it walks the streets with you. Riga’s participation in the Network supports not only artistic exchange, but also strategic thinking: how literature can drive urban development, foster inclusion, and reinforce identity in an era of flux.

Upon returning to Riga in 1899, Purvītis did more than paint—he laid the groundwork for Latvia’s future in art. After a brief period teaching in Tallinn, he was appointed director of the Riga City Art School in 1909, where he mentored names like Romans Suta and Jēkabs Kazaks. In 1919, during the fragile beginnings of Latvian independence, he became the first rector of the newly established Art Academy of Latvia and also served as director of the Riga City Art Museum. Through these positions, he organized major international exhibitions, bringing Latvian art to Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and beyond. His efforts institutionalized national artistic education and gave Latvian painting its enduring place in Europe’s cultural tapestry.

Though Purvītis painted thousands of canvases, his works rarely repeat. His approach combined plein air observation with a poetic stylization that evoked both Impressionist and Jugendstil aesthetics. Notably, he depicted transitional moments—thaws, dawns, dusks—moments between stillness and motion, between winter and spring, between seen and felt. A lesser-known fact is that Purvītis was also a meticulous draftsman who produced exquisite charcoal and ink sketches, many of which remain unpublished in museum archives. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he avoided portraits and allegory, devoting his brush almost exclusively to landscape. In doing so, he elevated the genre from decorative art to national symbol.

World War II shattered the world Purvītis had helped build. Dismissed from the museum in 1940 under Soviet occupation, he saw many of his works lost or destroyed in the ensuing chaos. In 1944, he fled Riga as the Eastern Front approached, losing dozens of paintings to fire in Jelgava during a bombing raid. He reached Bad Nauheim in Germany via Liepāja and Danzig, where he died of illness on January 14, 1945. He was later reinterred in Riga’s Meža Cemetery, alongside other national cultural figures. Despite the tragedies of his final years, his legacy endured—not only through the hundreds of canvases in museums and private collections, but in the very way Latvians see their land.

Among his most celebrated works are Spring Waters (1910), Melting Snow (1913), Birches in Winter (circa 1915), and Twilight (1893), the latter of which signaled his lifelong devotion to mood and atmosphere. Some lesser-known masterpieces include Revel in the Fog—a rare cityscape from his Tallinn years—and Evening Sun over the Marshes, housed in a private collection and rarely exhibited. His works are now preserved in the Latvian National Museum of Art, as well as in regional museums in Liepāja and Tukums, and international collections including Russia’s State Museum of Fine Arts. In 2001, the Latvian Academy of Arts founded the Purvītis Prize, Latvia’s most prestigious contemporary art award, continuing his mission to link national art with global currents.