Andrejs Paulāns-Kraskevičs ( Latgalian: Andrivs Povulāns-Kraskevičs, 30 November 1896 – 29 November 1973) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n and Latgalian

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

. He is regarded as one of the greatest Latgalian ceramicists. In 1937, Paulāns was awarded with a Gold Medal at the Paris Exhibition.

Biography

Andrejs Paulāns-Kraskevičs was born at

Šembeļi Šembeļi was a village in Preiļi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It was home of the famous Latgalian ceramicists, such as Andrejs Paulāns. It is located 219 kilometers from the capital city of Latvia, Riga. History During the ...

village in

Silajāņi Parish Silajāņi Parish ( lv, Silajāņu pagasts, ltg, Solujuoņu pogosts) is an administrative unit of Preiļi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

in 1896. He inherited the interest for

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and po ...

from his father Izidors.Paulānu dzimta
- Preili Library In 1915, he joined Latvian riflemen as the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

was going on. Two years later, Paulāns returned home after being heavily wounded in head and shoulder. For his service, he was awarded with a Cross of St. George. Paulāns right eye was blinded for the rest of his life. Since 1918, Paulāns worked in the workshop of his father. His name rose to fame in 30's, when his works were shown in

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

s outside

. First foreign exhibition with Paulāns works was in 1931 in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. He was awarded with a Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris Exhibition. Paulāns died on 29 November 1973. He is buried in the

Feimaņi Feimaņi; ( pl, Fejmany, german: Fehmen) is a village in Latgale, in Rēzekne Municipality. Feimaņi is the administrative centre of Feimaņi Parish. It is located 33 kilometers from the municipality centre Rēzekne and 229 kilometers away from ...

cemetery.

Legacy

Paulāns remains one of the most influential ceramicists in the

Latgalian ceramics Latgalian pottery ( ltg, Latgolys pūdnīceiba, lv, Latgales podniecība) or Latgalian ceramics (''Latgolys keramika'', ''Latgales keramika''), also known as Silajāņi ceramics is the best-known subset of Latvian pottery. The region of Latgale ...

history. In

Rainis Rainis was the pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšāns (September 11, 1865 – September 12, 1929), a Latvian poet, playwright, translator, and politician. Rainis' works include the classic plays ''Uguns un nakts'' (''Fire and Night'', 1905) and ''Ind ...

Museum in Jasmuiža are located the relocated workshop and kiln of Andrejs Paulāns. In 1986, Latgale Ceramics Studio in

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ; German: ''Rositten'') is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven hills, Rēz ...

was renamed to Andrejs Paulāns Folk Applied Art Studio. One of the streets in the Latgalian town of

Preiļi Preiļi (; german: Prely; ''russian: Прейли'', previously also ''Прели'') is a town in Preiļi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It is also the administrative center of Preiļi Municipality. History Preiļi is one of the old ...

is named in honor of Paulāns.

Honors

* 1937: Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris Exhibition * 1958: People's Artist of the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

References

External links

Works by Paulāns
@ Latgale Culture History Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrejs Paulans 1896 births 1973 deaths People from Preiļi Municipality 20th-century Latgalian ceramists 20th-century Latvian ceramists Recipients of the Order of St. George