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Arbit Blatas was a painter and sculptor. He also made graphic works, and designed stage sets for theatres in Warsaw, Hamburg, Venice, Madrid, Lisbon and Vancouver. From his very first personal exhibitions, he was acknowledged as a gifted artist who ‘manifested features of individuality and national identity’ (Pr., 1930, Lietuvos žinios, 90:4). He embraced artistic experimentation...Read more
Style
Arbit Blatas was a painter and sculptor. He also made graphic works, and designed stage sets for theatres in Warsaw, Hamburg, Venice, Madrid, Lisbon and Vancouver. From his very first personal exhibitions, he was acknowledged as a gifted artist who ‘manifested features of individuality and national identity’ (Pr., 1930, Lietuvos žinios, 90:4). He embraced artistic experimentation eagerly. The impact of Realism, Impressionism and Primitivism can be traced in his work. It also contains manifestations of Abstractionism, Constructivism and Cubism, but the work of his mature period is dominated by the stylistics of German Expressionism. He liked to highlight silhouettes with black contours, and play with contrasts of warm and cold colours, which injected strong dramatic elements into his works.
Arbit Blatas was the youngest painter at La Ruche, and was later nicknamed the chronicler of the École de Paris, after he committed to canvas or sculpture over 40 members of this artistic movement. His skilfully conveyed psychological portraits, rhythmic compositions of figures, and sophisticated still-lifes fascinate connoisseurs of painting, but the highlights of his artistic expression are the architectural scenery of Paris and Venice, and the natural landscapes of Lithuania. When Blatas returned to his home country, he would regularly organise painting sessions in the open air with his friends Max Band and Issai Kulviansky. His predilection for painting natural views in his native land was noticed by the French critic Waldemar George: ‘Nature painted by Arbit Blatas speaks to us. His works reflect the spirit of his native Lithuania’ (1935, Naujoji Romuva, 44–45:817).
The abundant artistic legacy of Arbit Blatas is held in major museums and private collections around the world. Over 300 of his paintings, graphic works and sculptures are owned by the Lithuanian Museum of Art, donated by his widow Regina Reznik.
Information source:
Litvak Art in Private Lithuanian Collections. Compiler Gradinskaite, V. (2015). Vilnius: Lewben Art Foundation
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