Art Museum Riga Bourse () is a museum in
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, Latvia. It was established in 1920 and contains the most extensive collection of world art in Latvia. Its permanent exhibits feature art ranging in time from Ancient Egyptian art dating back thousands of years to Asian art down to the 21st century.
History
Building
In the first half of the 19th century, Riga's trade developed. The merchants established their own permanent organization, the Stock Exchange Committee. At this time, all deals were made in the City Hall (''Rathaus'').
In 1847, the Great Guild of Riga decided to leave the City Hall and to give the rooms back to the city's court institutions. The members decided to build a new building that could contain the Guild itself, the Stock Exchange Committee and a city theatre.
The architect who designed the bourse was
Harald Julius von Bosse
Harald Julius von Bosse (28 September 1812 – 10 March 1894; ''Гаральд Юлиус Боссе'') was a 19th-century architect and painter. He was descended from a Germano-Baltic noble family and was a subject of the Russian Empire.
Li ...
, a
Baltic German
Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...
noble who worked in
Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. He wanted to settle the bourse in the Old Town and also "adapt to the irregular layout of the blocks, the narrow streets and the dense arrangement of buildings.".
[Vita Banga, Ojārs Spārtis, Liesma Markova, "The Stock Exchange", in ''Māsklas Muzejs RĪGAS BIRŽA'', Jumava editors, 2011.] Later, the idea of the city theater was rejected because of the risks of fire. Von Bosse started his design in 1850 but the location he chose didn't please the Exchange Committee. Then it was decided in 1851 to construct the building on the corner of Pils iela, Šķūņu iela and Jēkaba iela. Finally, the construction began on 25 March 1852. The building was designed in the Venetian Renaissance palazzo style as a symbol of wealth and abundance.
For the façade of the Bourse, a terracotta décor was used, consisting of sculptures with allegorical content and decorative elements. The Danish sculptor David Jensen, also established in Saint-Petersburg, was in charge of this project. Then, on 26 May 1856, the Riga Stock Exchange was ceremonially opened in the presence of the Russian tsar
Alexander II.
In 1937, several buildings were demolished to create the Dome square (Doms laukums).
After the World War II,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
became part of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and the building became the House of Science and Technology Propaganda. The façade was repainted in lighter colours (pale pink and brown).
On 24 January 1980, a fire broke out on the upper floor halls. The museum still bears many scars of this fire. The reconstruction began several months later but stopped in 1982 with work left to do.
On 30 September 2004, the reconstruction was scheduled with the project called "Reconstruction of the former Stock Exchange" but work only began in 2008 and finished in 2011. On 20 August 2011, the building could finally host the foreign art collections and be called the Art Museum Riga Bourse.
Collections
The collections of the Art Museum Riga Bourse have been collected by several art collectors during the 19th and the 20th century.
The first private collection that had been given to the city of Riga was Nikolaus von Himsel's (1729–1764). He was a Baltic German doctor and traveler and bought many oriental objects in order to make a
Kunstkammer
Cabinets of curiosities ( and ), also known as wonder-rooms ( ), were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined. Although more rudimentary collections had preceded them, t ...
or art cabinet. Then, Domenico de' Robbiani (1793–1889), an Italian merchant settled in Riga, gave his collection of paintings that gathered artworks from
the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, Germany or France. These two collections were merged and the idea of a museum arose.
Because of a lack of space, some paintings were settled in the Mayor's house whose name was Ludiwig Wilhelm Kerkovius (1831–1904). At this time, several collectors gave their collections: Reinhold Schilling (1819–1888) gave 30 paintings and Kerkovius 26 paintings. The most important gift was the Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo's collection (1779–1862). He gave 201 paintings, 70 of which were made by Dutch masters.
The collection of the museum contains more than 22,000 works of art, dating from the 4th millennium BC to the 20th century.
Collections
Paintings
*
Louis-Léopold Boilly
Louis-Léopold Boilly (; 5 July 1761 – 4 January 1845) was a French painter and draftsman. A creator of popular portrait paintings, he also produced a vast number of genre paintings documenting French middle-class social life. His life and work ...
, ''Portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo'', oil on canvas.
*
Anto Carte
Antoine "Anto" Carte (8 December 1886 - 15 February 1954) was a Belgian painter.
Antoine Carto was born in Mons in 1886. His father was a joiner. Anto Carte was first apprenticed to François Depooter, an interior painter, and then studied art ...
, ''Idole (Révélation)'', oil, tempera and gouache on canvas, 1932.
*
Workshop of Anton van Dyck, ''Portrait of
William II, Prince of Orange-Nassau'', oil on canvas, 1632.
*
Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Melchior is the name traditionally given to one of the biblical Magi appearing in the Gospel of Matthew. There are many notable people with this name, or close variations.
As a first name
* Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914), Swiss mountain guide
...
, ''Rooster Fight'', oil on canvas, 17th century.
*
Jacob van Loo
Jacob van Loo (1614 – 26 November 1670) was a Painting, painter of the Dutch Golden Age, chiefly active in Amsterdam and, after 1660, in Paris. Van Loo is known for his conversational groupings; particularly his mythological and biblical scenes ...
, ''Portrait of a Scientist'', oil on canvas, 1647.
*
Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...
, ''Winter Landscape (Sandviken)'', oil on canvas, 1895.
*
Niccolò Renieri Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion".
There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The f ...
, ''Society of Musicians'', oil on canvas, 17th century.
*
Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert (; 22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux ...
, ''The Augustus Temple in Nîmes'', oil on canvas, 1783.
*
Daniel Seghers
Daniel Seghers (3December 15902November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of flower garland painting.I ...
et
Lucas van Uden
Lucas van Uden (18 October 1595 – 4 November 1672) was a leading Flemish Landscape art, landscape painter, draughtsman and engraver, who lived and worked in Antwerp. He was a leading landscape painter who collaborated with various local fi ...
, ''Landscape in a Garland of Flowers'', oil on wood, 17th century.
*
, ''Adam and Eve'', tempera on canvas, 1593–1595.
* Unknown Artist (
Frankfurt school
The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...
), ''Man with
carnation
''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...
'', oil and tempera on wood, early 16th century.
Sculptures
*
Luigi Bienaimé
Bust of
Luigi Bienaimé (Carrara, 1795–1878) was a sculptor active in Italy during the Neoclassical period.
His family originally was from what is now Belgium, however, he gained a stipend from Carrara to study sculpture in Rome, where he stu ...
, ''Bacchante'', marble, 1847.
*
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...
, ''Bust of the Goddess Hebe'', marble, 1819.
*
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (; 11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III.
Life
Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpe ...
, ''Bust of a Bacchante'', bronze, 19th century.
*
Lower Rhine School, ''Saint Catherine'', wood, 15th century.
*
François Pompon
François Pompon (; 9 May 1855 – 6 May 1933) was a French sculptor and animalier. Pompon made his Salon debut in 1879, exhibiting a statue of Victor Hugo's Cosette (from ''Les Misérables''). He was a pioneer of modern stylized animalier ...
, ''Bear'', on-glazed céramic.
*
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...
, ''The Kiss'', bronze, 1886.
*
Pietro Tenerani
Pietro Tenerani (11 November 1789 – 16 December 1869) was an Italian sculptor of the Neoclassic style.
Biography
Early career
Pietro Tenerani was born in Torano, near Carrara. He initially trained with his maternal uncle, the sculptor P ...
, ''Psyche'', marble, middle of the 19th century.
*
Viktor Oskar Tilgner
Viktor Oskar Tilgner (25 October 1844 in Pressburg – 16 April 1896 in Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor and medailleur.
Life
He was the son of Captain Carl Tilgner. The family moved to Vienna when he was a child. His talent was recogni ...
, ''Buste of
Hans Makart
Hans Makart (28 May 1840 – 3 October 1884) was an Austrian academic history painter, designer and decorator. Makart was a prolific painter whose ideas significantly influenced the development of visual art in Austria-Hungary, Germany, and other ...
'', bronze, end of the 19th century.
Installation Art
*
Dmitry Gutov, ''Gondola'', 2012.
Objets d'Art
*
Arita Workshops, ''Plate'', porcelaine, émail et engobe, 18th century.
*
Cantonese Workshops, ''Puzzle Ball with Sticks'', ivory, 20th century.
*
Fabergé Workshops, ''Bird Carafe'', cristal and silver, 19th century.
*
Meissen Workshops, ''Vase Decorated with Snow Balls'', porcelain, c. 1740.
* Ernst August Leuteritz (
Meissen Workshops), ''Epergne'', porcelain, on-glaze painting, 1886.
*
Sèvres Workshops, ''The Reaper'', bisque porcelain, 1757–1766.
*
Wedgwood Workshops, ''Vase with Relief Decoration'', stoneware, 19th century.
* India, ''Elephant'', carved ivory, 19th century.
*
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, ''Wayang Shadow Theatre'', wood, batik, cotton and leather, 21st century.
Gallery
File:Portrait de Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo.jpg, ''Portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo''
File:Guillaume2.jpg, ''Portrait of William II, prince of Orange-Nassau''
File:La bacchante aux roses de Carpeaux.jpg, ''Bust of a Bacchante''
File:Le baiser d'Auguste Rodin.jpg, ''The Kiss''
File:Birzas Merkurijs.jpg, ''Mercury'' (before restoration)
File:Buste Makart.jpg, ''Bust of Hans Makart''
File:Claude Monet - Sandvika Village in the Snow (1895).jpg, ''Village de Sandviken'', Claude Monet
See also
*
List of museums in Latvia
References
External links
*
Art Museum Riga Boursewithin
Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google.
It utilizes high-re ...
{{Authority control
Art museums and galleries in Latvia
Museums in Riga
Art museums and galleries established in 1920
1920 establishments in Latvia