Aleksandras Beļcovas (1892-1981) abstrahējošā modernisma posma darbi
Aleksandra Beļcova's (1892-1981) Works of her Abstract Modernist Period

Summary/Abstract: The artist Aleksandra Beļcova who was born in the small Russian town of Surazh in 1892 but spent the most part of her life in Latvia. In 1919 she came to Riga to marry the Latvian artist Romans Suta and stayed in her second homeland till her death in 1981. Beļcova’s name is mentioned in Latvian art history not just in relation to Romans Suta but as an artist in her own right. Beļcova was an oustanding representative of 1920s art along with other members of the Riga Artists Group (the name has become synonymous with Latvian modernism). After graduation from Penza Art School in 1917, Beļcova set off for Petrograd to enter the Free State Art Studios headed by Natan Altman. Her teacher’s influence is visible already in the work “Nastja. Woman with a Fan” (canvas, oil, 69 x 48 cm, Suta and Beļcova Museum (SBM)). This portrait by Beļcova bears a striking resemblance to “Portrait of M. J.” by Altman (1918) reproduced in the first volume of the magazine Izobrazitel’noye Iskusstvo (Petrograd, 1919) and we know Beļcova owned a copy of the magazine. Beļcova’s “Self-Portrait in a Blue-Rimmed Hat” (canvas, oil, 43 x 44.5 cm, SBM) offers a deep insight into the inner world. The young, beautiful woman (as Beļcova was at the time), is depicted as a fragile, spiritual being of an indeterminate age with a pale face and large, dark curves beneath the eyes. This image possibly stems from her depressive mood of that time. The format of the painting – almost a square – is significant. It seems that if the painting were to be stretched into an extended rectangle, the painting’s emotional overtones tones would take on the character of an expressionist drama but, thanks to the harmonious composition secured by the square, the inner passion is calmed down and light melancholy prevails. Beļcova continued to search for solutions in composition and form in her series of decorative panels for the interior of the “Sukubs” café. Suta devised this peculiar name for the eatery run by his mother (opened in summer 1919) by combining the names of the two most popular art movements – Suprematism and Cubism. Interpreting Beļcova’s art of the early 1920s, it is difficult to spot consistent development of picture form. In the early 1920s Beļcova also turned to the landscape. “Constructive Composition” (early 1920s, canvas, oil, 76.5 x 60 cm, SBM) is one example demonstrating the possible appropriation of some artistic means from Fernand Léger. Her experiments of the early 1920s in the landscape genre resulted in the work “Urban Impressions. Berlin” (1923, canvas, oil, 65 x 48 cm, SBM). The increased level of abstraction is already indicated by the title – the artist does not depict a concrete scene and place but a sublimated picturesque idea of it. Like other cityscapes by Beļcova of that time, it is a suburban scene. Acquiring the methods of construction of the modern painting, Beļcova oriented herself towards certain models - Juan Gris and Albert Gleizes in particular.

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