Arts and a nation : the role of visual arts and artists in the making of the Latvian identity, 1905-1940 /
Pourchier-Plasseraud, Suzanne.
Arts and a nation : the role of visual arts and artists in the making of the Latvian identity, 1905-1940 / By Suzanne Pourchier-Plasseraud ; Translated from French by Nick Tait. - 1 online resource (xxiii, 572 pages) : illustrations. - On the Boundary of Two Worlds : Identity, Freedom , and Moral Imagination in the Baltics ; v. 41 . - On the Boundary of Two Worlds 41. European History and Culture E-Books Online, Collection 2015-II, ISBN: 9789004287426. .
Includes bibliographical references (p. 541-562) and index.
Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Prologue: On the Eve of the 20th Century, a Cultural Awakening that Faced Twin Obstructions -- The Emergence of Demands for Autonomy in the Russian Empire -- The Formation Of An Imaginary Landscape for the Latvian Nation (1905–1920) -- The Arts in the Service of the Latvian Idea -- The Collapse of the Russian Empire and the Emergence of Latvian Political Demands -- Depiction of a Heroic People, a New Source from the Imaginary Landscape Created in Latvian Art -- Artists in the Service of National Symbolism -- A Vulnerable Parliamentary State -- An Assertive Cultural Policy -- The ‘Latvianization’ of the Visual Arts -- The Authoritarian Regime (1934–1940) -- Latvianisation of the Arts -- Architecture and Urban Development Harnessed by the State -- Conclusion -- Maps -- Chronology -- Bibliography and Sources -- Index.
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Focusing on the role of arts in the construction of national identity, Suzanne Pourchier-Plasseraud has chosen to study the case of a country lacking an ancient state history of its own, Latvia. This book analyses the part played by the visual arts in transmuting the cultural concept of a nation, advocated by a small intelligentsia, into a widespread claim for independence. By the end of the 19th century, fretting under Russian political domination and German economic and cultural supremacy, the Latvians turned back to their own language, culture and folklore, with a special interest for their dainas , their timeless common heritage rooted into a mythical golden age. Latvian artists thus found themselves entrusted with the mission of creating a national iconographic representation and a specifically Latvian art, freed from Russian and German influences. The author shows how the links between the cultural and political spheres evolved between 1905 and 1940, including during the period of authoritarian government preceding WWII. An enlightening contribution to understanding how art and history can be turned into social and political instruments, this book reaches far beyond the Latvian case to a European and even global scope.
9789004300286
10.1163/9789004300286 DOI
2015023007
1900 - 1999
Nationalism and art--History--Latvia--20th century.
Nationalism and art.
Latvia.
History.
N72.N38 / .P68 2015
709.4796/09041
Arts and a nation : the role of visual arts and artists in the making of the Latvian identity, 1905-1940 / By Suzanne Pourchier-Plasseraud ; Translated from French by Nick Tait. - 1 online resource (xxiii, 572 pages) : illustrations. - On the Boundary of Two Worlds : Identity, Freedom , and Moral Imagination in the Baltics ; v. 41 . - On the Boundary of Two Worlds 41. European History and Culture E-Books Online, Collection 2015-II, ISBN: 9789004287426. .
Includes bibliographical references (p. 541-562) and index.
Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Prologue: On the Eve of the 20th Century, a Cultural Awakening that Faced Twin Obstructions -- The Emergence of Demands for Autonomy in the Russian Empire -- The Formation Of An Imaginary Landscape for the Latvian Nation (1905–1920) -- The Arts in the Service of the Latvian Idea -- The Collapse of the Russian Empire and the Emergence of Latvian Political Demands -- Depiction of a Heroic People, a New Source from the Imaginary Landscape Created in Latvian Art -- Artists in the Service of National Symbolism -- A Vulnerable Parliamentary State -- An Assertive Cultural Policy -- The ‘Latvianization’ of the Visual Arts -- The Authoritarian Regime (1934–1940) -- Latvianisation of the Arts -- Architecture and Urban Development Harnessed by the State -- Conclusion -- Maps -- Chronology -- Bibliography and Sources -- Index.
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Focusing on the role of arts in the construction of national identity, Suzanne Pourchier-Plasseraud has chosen to study the case of a country lacking an ancient state history of its own, Latvia. This book analyses the part played by the visual arts in transmuting the cultural concept of a nation, advocated by a small intelligentsia, into a widespread claim for independence. By the end of the 19th century, fretting under Russian political domination and German economic and cultural supremacy, the Latvians turned back to their own language, culture and folklore, with a special interest for their dainas , their timeless common heritage rooted into a mythical golden age. Latvian artists thus found themselves entrusted with the mission of creating a national iconographic representation and a specifically Latvian art, freed from Russian and German influences. The author shows how the links between the cultural and political spheres evolved between 1905 and 1940, including during the period of authoritarian government preceding WWII. An enlightening contribution to understanding how art and history can be turned into social and political instruments, this book reaches far beyond the Latvian case to a European and even global scope.
9789004300286
10.1163/9789004300286 DOI
2015023007
1900 - 1999
Nationalism and art--History--Latvia--20th century.
Nationalism and art.
Latvia.
History.
N72.N38 / .P68 2015
709.4796/09041