Johann Walter-Kurau (Jānis VALTERS), MAN WITH A FAJKA, before 1906

Oil, canvas; 60.6 x 50.5 cm
The authorship of the portrait was confirmed by Kristiana Abele, director of the Institute of Art History of the Latvian Academy
Asking price 4000
Estimate 5000 - 6000
Johann Walter-Kurau (Jānis VALTERS)
1869 Mitawa - 1932 Berlin
Latvian-German painter. As one of the founders of modern Latvian painting. From 1880 to 1888 Walter studied at the Mitau Gymnasium, where his art teacher was Kurt Wiessner. He also took private lessons in the studio of artist Julius Döring. From 1889 to 1897, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg with Alexei Danilovich Kivshchenko and Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky. He was a member and for a time the leader of the Latvian group of artists "Rūķis". In 1906 he left for Germany.
He settled in Dresden. Here he initially earned a living playing the violin at the Dresden Opera House. In 1917 he moved to Berlin. Many outstanding students attended his painting school.
In his early years, he painted mainly landscapes in the Realism style. In later years, his work was dominated by the style of German Expressionism.