Burkards Dzenis (1879, Dreiliņi,

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

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 ...

– 1966,

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

) was a Latvian artist.

Biography

Burkards Dzenis was born in the outskirts of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

and spent his first years in the city. He decided to become an artist because of the impression that two statues at the entrance to his school made on him, early in his life. In 1897 he moved to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to study to become a sculptor at the

Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy The Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (Санкт-Петербургская художественно-промышленная академия имени А. Л. Штиглица; abbreviated as СПГХПА) is the ...

. There he came in contact with other young Latvian artists, including his own cousin

Teodors Zaļkalns Teodors Zaļkalns (born Teodors Grīnbergs; 30 November 1876 – 6 September 1972) was a Latvian sculptor, poet, medalist and teacher who was among the first professional Latvian sculptors. Biography He was born in 1876 in Allažu parish in th ...

and

Rūdolfs Pērle Rūdolfs Pērle (1875, present-day Bilska Parish – 1917, Saint Petersburg) was a Latvian painter. For a large part of his life, he specialised in producing still lifes, but widened his artistic range following his experiences during World War ...

, and joined the association of young artists known as '' Rūķis''. He remained a member of the group until 1905. In Saint Petersburg he came in contact with a wider art scene and took influences from both the rich collections of the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...

and through temporary exhibitions displaying contemporary art, among them the works of Auguste Rodin. Dzenis subsequently adopted a modern aesthetic and committed himself to the ideals of artistic renewal around the turn of the century. After having obtained his art diploma from the academy in 1905, he spend one year in Paris thanks to a scholarship, and subsequently traveled to Berlin and Moscow. He then returned to Riga where he opened a large and modern

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art o ...

and worked as an independent artist. He was also active as an art teacher. From 1910, he regularly exhibited his works at art exhibitions in the city, and took active part in the development of the city's artistic life. Dzenis became an influential member of the

Art Academy of Latvia The Art Academy of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Mākslas akadēmija) is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to ...

and was director of the

Latvian National Museum of Art The Latvian National Museum of Art ( lv, Latvijas Nacionālais mākslas muzejs) is the richest collection of national art in Latvia. It houses more than 52,000 works of art reflecting the development of professional art in the Baltic area and in ...

between 1920 and 1944. Following the Soviet occupation of Latvia, he fled the country to the United States. Dzenis, his wife, Augusta, and children emigrated to the United States as

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, ...

in 1950. They settled in the village of Gettysburg north of

where he continued to create works in clay, bronze, plaster of Paris and wood and to teach. In 1958 he moved to Dayton where he lived until his death in 1966. In 2019 a documentary film was made of Dzenis' life and work.

Artistic range

The artistic range of Burkards Dzenis was broad. An educated sculptor, he created not only sculpture in the round but also funerary monuments and portraits, and made designs for monumental memorials. In addition, he also designed

jewelry Jewellery (British English, UK) or jewelry (American English, U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be at ...

bank notes A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

and

book bindings Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

. He is also credited with having designed the

coat of arms of Latvia Coat of arms of Republic of Latvia was officially adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on 15 June 1921, and was in official use from 19 August 1921. It was created using new national symbols and elements of coats of arms of Polish and ...

although other sources claim it was designed by

Vilhelms Krūmiņš Vilhelms is a Latvian masculine given name, cognate of the English name William. The diminutive form of Vilhelms is Vilis. People bearing the name Vilhelms include: * Vilhelms Bokslafs (1858–1945), Baltic German-Latvian architect * Vilhelms K ...

and

Rihards Zariņš Rihards Zariņš (also Richards Zarriņš or Richard Sarrinsch in German; 27 June 1869 – 21 April 1939) was a prominent Latvian graphic artist. Life He was born in Kocēni and grew up in Līgatne and later in Grīva. He pursued his studies ...

. Dzenis received several both national and international rewards in recognition of his work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzenis, Burkards 1879 births 1966 deaths People from Stopiņi Municipality People from Kreis Riga Latvian sculptors Latvian World War II refugees Latvian emigrants to the United States